SENShobo
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Clouston’s NHL Career Turns 50
by SENShobo on 11/12/09 at 08:56 AM ET
Comments (2)
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.”
...
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.
27-16-6 reads Clouston’s NHL record with the Senators, .612 a point percentage that would assure nearly any club perpetual playoff appearances. If it could be an established year-over-year trend, playoffs bringing teams into profitability, that would be enough.
But in Dany Heatley, he faced a much bigger challenge. The story goes that Heatley felt that his status on the team should determine his ice time, roles, and responsibilities, and that the results would follow. In requiring Heatley as a player to respond to challenges, the results of that determining his ice time, roles, and responsibilities. Any player who may have questioned Clouston’s presence there would have caught the chuckle in their throat as they saw just how far the organization went, Clouston getting full support, to ensure the perseverance of their notion of team.
Looking at their rather remarkable turnaround after a wholly disappointing 17-24-7 start to the season, the success was easy to spot. Those who bought in, saw that following instructions and giving full effort were just the base requirements, found something more than success. In their hard work, both Shannon and Carkner found reward: both received their first one-way NHL contracts. Those results undoubtedly echo down through the organization, and hopefully the players in Binghamton and prospects throughout other Leagues see those results and don’t feel the need to follow Nikulin’s path.
Heading into tonight’s game, his 50th in the League, he has every reason to be confident in his ways. Anyone who thought that the reversal of Cheechoo’s decline from 56 goals to 37, 23, and 12 would be easy, let alone to lift him back safely into the 20s, was foolhardy, but Cheechoo has now found the back of the net; perhaps with declining wheels it will be easier for him to just endure the crease-crushing, while letting someone like Kovalev thread impossible passes or shots through the rest. Now it’s time to see what else can be brought back on track. Or, at the very least, see that he doesn’t celebrate in Hitchcock style, the veteran coach’s 1000th game last night leading to a 9-1 trouncing at the hands of the Red Wings.
From the Ottawa Citizen, on Leclaire’s questioned success thus far,
Ottawa Senators goaltender Pascal Leclaire knows he has been letting in a few bad goals lately, but he’s not letting it get to him.
...
“The thing is … you try and forget them as soon as possible, and limit them at critical times,” said Leclaire, who is 6-4-1 this season with a .898 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average. “You’re always going to make mistakes.”
...
“I thought, when we needed him, he was at his best,” Clouston said. “He played very, very well partway through the second and really well in the third, and (that) allowed us to get our feet under us.”
Recovering from a shaky season that was ended by spending over half a year off the ice, completed with a trade from the only team he’s ever known, it’s excusable for him to be looking for his rhythm at this point still.
The key point though? He still finished with a .912 Sv%, held the Oilers scoreless in the second while his team tied it at 2 despite facing 15 shots, and the bench-raising moments, like when speedy we-could-have-had-him Cogliano rushed in on a breakaway, were not allowed to get out of hand. A goalie making the key momentum saves but letting in a softie while getting back in the game? I’ll still take that over a goalie whose work can only be called routine.
From the Ottawa Citizen, on Emery’s challenge for the night,
Emery may appear cool on the surface, but don’t let anyone fool you, Briere said. Thursday night’s game against Ottawa will be tough for the one-time Senator.
“It’s a big game for him,” Briere told reporters after practice Wednesday. “You want to step up and make sure your preparation is there. We understand what is at stake and how big a game it is for Ray.
“Just facing your ex-team the first time, there is a lot of excitement. It’s a fine line. You want to make sure you’re ready, but you don’t want to do too much.”
...
Thursday’s matchup features an odd bit of trivia: Clouston earned his first win as an American Hockey League coach with Emery in net. That was Oct. 14, 2007, when the Binghamton Senators beat the Hersey Bears 5-2 while Emery was on a two-game conditioning assignment while recovering from off-season wrist surgery.
I’ll take that bit of trivia over Emery’s return. I’ll take the first full game of the Bingo Brigade, Clouston sticking his recent wards of Foligno (least so), Regin, and Shannon together after starting the second period with them on Tuesday and seeing it lead to the game-tying goal. I’ll take the real start of Ottawa’s challenging season: they don’t play back-to-back non-playoff teams for over a month, not that you’d consider Buffalo an easy win at all with Miller pushing for team USA’s starting job at the Olympics, nor would you consider either the Avalanche or the Islanders a roll over club to end the season.
Now begins the brutal stretch, the real test, and that’s more important than continuing to give Emery grief. Everyone needs to find themselves somewhere; Ottawa was unfortunately not that stop for the enigmatic but passionate tender.
From contactmusic.com, some lighter gossip that I normally wouldn’t indulge in,
Country sensation CARRIE UNDERWOOD is one step closer to walking down the aisle with her ice hockey star beau MIKE FISHER after accepting his offer to move in together.
...
A source tells OK! magazine, “Mike asked her to move in, and she said yes… She’s on the road a lot and can’t commit fully, but she did clear out space in his closet and stock his kitchen with her favourites.”And pals of the couple are not surprised if the big move leads to wedding bells: “They’re completely in love. They’ve talked marriage. Mike’s said it in front of Carrie’s family. They love him and think he’s great.”
Knowing the schedules the pair keeps, moving in likely does mean just a few nights spent worrying less about hotel arrangements, but congratulations are in order for Fisher on his happiness. Spezza has begun transforming his game after getting hitched this summer; perhaps more romance could bring Fisher’s performance to the head of the pack? A little light-hearted gossip sure beats what we’ve endured of late.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
Comments
Seriously, what a shame about Leclaire. He had all the tools to be an elite NHL starter. Was he overworked early in his career? Did it lead to the injury history that now has him as a bandaid boy?
Tough call obviously but it looks like he’s run(ning) out of chances.
Posted by Fantasy Hockey from Canada on 03/30/10 at 10:54 PM ET
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Great! The articles so far have been full of great material. Glad to hear the serious will continue. Keep ‘em coming!
Posted by ideas on 02/06/10 at 03:30 AM ET