SENShobo

Clouston’s NHL Career Turns 50

by SENShobo on 11/12/09 at 08:56 AM ET
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Should Leclaire’s goaltending be questioned, is Emery really the focus the team needs tonight, and a little more love in the Senators’ organization, but first..

From the Ottawa Citizen, on Clouston’s “50th,”

“I think the biggest thing I’ve probably learned is how difficult it is to win, that any win is a good win, even though you may not have played as well as you possibly could have,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

“You’ve got to make sure that you appreciate the wins and take the positives out of that, and work on the things that need to be improved on, because it is such a tough league to win in.”
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To say winning has always come easily to Clouston is a little misleading. His Western Hockey League, American Hockey League and NHL squads have never posted a losing record in eight years, so it certainly looks that way.

But you don’t pick up various coach-of-the-year awards and get to be the second-youngest active head coach in the NHL because you’re lucky. Clouston’s willingness to work harder and longer than the next guy has been the secret to his success thus far.

The man who hired him and saw him pull a few all-nighters at Scotiabank Place, Senators general manager Bryan Murray, can vouch for that.

A bit of self-congratulation? Maybe. But there’s a bit more to Clouston’s performance that’s assured him the opportunity to prove himself.

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A Class That Embodies The Real Lesson

by SENShobo on 11/10/09 at 01:40 PM ET
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You could see a great many stories about the Senators today, from their unfortunate status as the most penalized team in the League (SENS), Murray’s desire to add at least a player (HC), the Oilers who Heatley kept in Edmonton rolling into town (OS), and Emery’s first game hosting ‘a team he used to play for’ (OC).

But, after last night’s Hockey Hall of Fame inductions, perhaps a little more reflection on the organization would be diligent.

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Third Time’s The Charm

by SENShobo on 11/06/09 at 09:22 AM ET
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Ottawa’s goal ‘luck’ returns, how to lay a clean hit, H1N1 hits the organization, and the can’t miss $4 million hockey cards, but first..

From the Ottawa Sun, on Ottawa’s 3-2 OT win over Tampa,

Returning to the lineup after missing two games with what’s believed to be a back/groin injury, the Senators centre fired his first goal of the season past Antero Niittymaki at 4:17 of overtime to give Ottawa a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay at Scotiabank Place.
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“To get one in overtime, get the win and get my first is always nice,” said Spezza, who hadn’t scored since April 11, in the Senators’ season-ending game — against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I felt pretty good about my game going into this. I just wasn’t getting any bounces. It’s nice to get one — that’s for sure.”

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Sens Need Mending

by SENShobo on 11/05/09 at 08:56 AM ET
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Face off woes, flu shot ponderings, Binghamton’s visit, possible rookie camp move, and prospect updates, but first..

From the Ottawa Sun, on Spezza’s back problems,

“I felt pretty good. I got through the whole practice and I didn’t have to leave. The rest has definitely helped it, but the only way you can tell how it’s going to be is by skating,” said Spezza, who is still looking for his first goal, but has eight assists in 10 games and has been good at both ends of the rink.

“It hasn’t gone away completely, but it’s been better. It’s a positive sign. It’s been hampering me all year. I just got to the point where I didn’t feel I could go on much longer without taking a bit of time off. Hopefully, we’ve got it under control now and it doesn’t become an issue for me.”

Whether or not Spezza plays tonight (and with Volchenkov still sidelined), the real team need is consistency, in all areas. Update - 2:20 p.m. - (OC) Spezza, Fisher, Leclaire are in, Donovan and Winchester out.

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Sens’ Final Resting Place

by SENShobo on 11/03/09 at 08:59 AM ET
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Melnyk looking to stab back at Heatley, Kovalev supposedly needs to improve, and some injury updates with shocking schedule realities, but first..

From the Ottawa Citizen, on Elliott’s future prospects,

Like Elliott, Leclaire has another year left on his contract. At that point, the Senators will have to decide whether they want to re-sign Leclaire and/or Elliott or whether they want to trust their future to Swedish goalie Robin Lehner, who is playing very well this season for the Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds.

Cory Clouston, who coached Elliott in Binghamton before both of them were parachuted into Ottawa, has no doubt Elliott will be a No. 1 NHL goalie. It’s a matter of finetuning.

“I think the structure of his game and his positional play is a lot better,” said Clouston, who was promoted to Ottawa after the firing of Craig Hartsburg in February.

Going 2-1-1 with a 3.20GAA and .892Sv% won’t convince anyone that last season’s end wasn’t a fluke, but there’s much more still to come.

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Ottawa Narrowly Edges Florida

by SENShobo on 10/29/09 at 08:37 AM ET
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Struggling Sens on and off the ice, scary personnel losses, praise for Clouston and Kovalev, some mild skepticism, (update) and lineup notes for tonight, but first..

From the Ottawa Sun, on Kuba’s successful return,

In his first game back after missing eight with a groin injury, Kuba assisted on two goals and was a plus-2 as the Senators dumped the Florida Panthers 4-3 last night at BankAtlantic Center.

Kuba said he felt “rusty” and that it was “like the beginning of the season for me.”
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While the Senators converted their one and only power play of the night, it was the Ottawa “killers” who shone brightest. The Panthers were allowed only one goal on seven power plays.

“I thought we battled hard,” said coach Cory Clouston. “When you have to kill that many times, it’s tough on guys. It’s really hard to get momentum. I thought each time we killed, two or three shifts later we ended up gaining the momentum back, but the next thing you know we were in the box.”

There will always be positives to find in victory. Yes, even against a .250 team.

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Karlsson Down, Kuba In For Sens

by SENShobo on 10/28/09 at 09:23 AM ET
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Lineup returns, cementings, equipment changes, and flu scares, but first..

From the Ottawa Citizen, on Karlsson’s demotion,

On the bright side, at least nobody said, “this is a men’s league and he’s still a boy.”
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Karlsson survived the late September cut, but not the contractual trigger deadline nine games into the season. The 19-year-old was stung, breaking down with emotion in the office of Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray.
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Spezza, drafted by Ottawa second overall in 2001, famously went down to Bingo with the “this is a men’s league” quote from Jacques Martin ringing in his ears, back when Marshall Johnston and Martin were GM and head coach of the Senators, respectively. Truthful, but blunt, and not exactly what a future star wants to hear.

For all the hope and promise, it was bound to happen, and it’s for the best.

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Personnel, Power Play Struggles For Sens

by SENShobo on 10/27/09 at 09:03 AM ET
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Bruiser etiquette, power play problems, but first..

From the Ottawa Sun, on Erik Karlsson’s impending status change,

No final decision has been announced, but the Senators appear to be leaning toward sending their top prospect back to Sweden for the season. They are as excited as ever about Karlsson, the 15th overall pick in the 2008 entry draft, but they have concerns about the slight defenceman’s confidence as he battles through the growing pains of his first year in the NHL.
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“We’re going to have to make a decision, obviously, within the next 24 or 48 hours,” coach Cory Clouston said after a practice yesterday that was minus Karlsson and centre Peter Regin — both dealing with the flu bug. “There are some pros and cons (for keeping Karlsson). It’s going to be a tough decision either way.

“You’ve got to make a decision on what’s best for him in the long run and obviously what’s best for us immediately. There are a few other things we have to consider other than just his play and his development.”

Is there really any daunting reason to keep him around at the moment though?

Update - 12:49 p.m. - From the Ottawa Citizen, Karlsson has been demoted to Binghamton.

The 19-year-old defenceman, who didn’t speak to the media, didn’t take the news well, said Murray.

Use it Special K, use it.

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Sens Dumbfounded By Preds

by SENShobo on 10/23/09 at 08:32 AM ET
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Really, on a busy day, the Senators’ 5-6 OT loss to the Preds best summed up like so, from the Ottawa Sun,

So, just where does crazy stop and weird take over?
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Take Spezza, for instance. He’s supposed to be doubtful for the game with some kind of injury.

All he does is go out and have a dominating performance with three assists, including an end-to-end rush to set up defenceman Anton Volchenkov for his first goal in almost a year, which tied the game 4-4 with less than five minutes left in the third period.
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When’s the last time Senators’ shutdown pair of Volchenkov and Phillips scored in the same game, never mind the same period? Ever?

Then there was the Nashville power play, last in the league with one goal this year, scoring two in just over three minutes (the last minute of the third and first two of OT) to win it.

The game started with Senators defenceman Alexandre Picard knocking two goals into his own net. Should have known then it was going to be a weird one.

There’s a reason you take struggling teams seriously, especially ones that have beaten you 6-5 in extra time in your own barn just a couple years ago.

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Low Level Stats: Ottawa’s Friend Or Foe?

by SENShobo on 10/22/09 at 08:59 AM ET
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Some injury news, lineup notes, but first..

From the Ottawa Citizen,

“Obviously, it’s a definite advantage when you score first,” said Mike Fisher, who set up both Chris Neil and Alex Kovalev for goals against Montreal.

“It gives you that much more confidence. Montreal was all over us in the first period and (Leclaire) made some great saves. We got out of that first period tied 1-1 and we knew it was all they could throw at us.

“We were confident we could find our game. Without some of those saves, it could have been 2-1 or 3-1 after the first period and a different game.”
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“We’ve been fortunate to have scored the first goal in so many games,” said Nick Foligno, who also assisted on Neil’s game-opening goal against Montreal. “I think it allows you to play your game. You’re able to dictate how the game is going to be played, and I think that’s the biggest thing for us. When we’re dictating, it’s a better game for us. We’re forechecking, we’re the ones with the puck on our stick.

Why not throw out a random set of numbers, though, and see if it doesn’t stick to Leclaire and his fortunes?

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Who is SENShobo?

Fully addicted to hockey, Andrew Dodds finds it safe to live in the alleys, considering his allegiance to the Ottawa Senators in the middle of Leaf County. He tries to bring you as many worthwhile Sens stories as he can find, along with his musings on the team and the NHL in general; musings indeed since he is but a humble hockey hobo.

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