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SENShobo

Senators Getting Set For Saturday

by SENShobo on 10/08/08 at 09:08 AM ET
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• Gerber tabbed early as Ottawa’s starter against Detroit.
• Bass and Elliot returned to Binghamton.
• Sens start preparations for Saturday.
• More season previews for the Senators.

• Gerber will start Saturday against Detroit, as he rightfully should (Ottawa Sun, Ottawa Citizen).

“Definitely,” the Senators goalie said when asked if he was looking forward to Saturday’s season opener at Scotiabank—and moments after coach Craig Hartsburg confirmed he was drawing the short straw, er, starting assignment. “It’ll be a good test of where we stand, and there will probably be a lot of attention on that game. I’m definitely looking forward to playing the Stanley Cup champions.”

There was a lot of attention on last Saturday’s game in Sweden against the Cup finalist Pittsburgh Penguins, too, and that didn’t turn out so well for Gerber. He surrendered a goal on the first shot he faced, a harmless looking attempt from the side of net by Tyler Kennedy. He gave up an overtime winner to the same guy, on a shot most NHL goalies would have surely knocked away, and in between, just the third goal (another softie) in the 220-game career of defenceman Rob Scuderi.

There’s not a season that goes by without every player in the NHL having games they wish they could do over. It’s unfortunate that Gerber’s came in the very first game, but he will battle through. While healthy competition can be good (unless you’re talking about the success it brought last season), it makes little sense to push Auld into the starting role, especially after only one game of bad goals by Gerber, something he’s well aware of.

“They were more small things,” Gerber said. “I felt all right, it just seemed like a couple of times the puck went through me. I was in good position, but I was giving a little too much hole than I should have and the puck just squeezed through there.”

Gerber was tabbed as the starter months ago, and as such he should indeed be the one starting on Saturday. If you throw Auld in because of one bad game for Gerber and one good game for Auld, you send the message that it’s just like last year, and any slip ups will result in immediate loss of trust. It didn’t work so well when Paddock wanted to ride the winning goalie back and forth; let’s not stray down that path to start this season.

• Bass and Elliot return to Binghamton to develop more effectively than they could in Ottawa (Ottawa Sun).

Along with the dejection, there was plenty of determination in Cody Bass’ voice as he drove to Binghamton last night.

“It kinda sucks,” the 21-year-old centre said of the Senators’ decision to demote him, along with goalie Brian Elliott, to their AHL farm team yesterday afternoon. “But it wasn’t totally a surprise, either. There are a lot of forwards (in Ottawa) and I’m still young, and I kind of had a little hint when I didn’t play in Sweden. I thought I had a decent camp, but now it’s going to have to be like the same as last year. I’m going to go down there and prove everyone wrong again.”

Bass certainly looked good in the last quarter of the previous season, but this demotion shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Despite the personnel losses the Sens have sustained, competition is far more fierce at every position this time around.

I believe it was Murray who said that he was not sure whether Bass would be better served with 4th line energy minutes in Ottawa, or if he might develop better in Binghamton with greater ice time, and a chance to work more on his scoring nose. If it means directing Bass from that 4th line role and pointing him towards a more all-around Fisher style of play, then I’m all for this phase of his development.

• Preparing for Detroit, six time zones from their last game, will take a good deal of focus (Ottawa Senators’ web).

“Last weekend was a good start for us but you know what, it’s two games in and we’ve still got a lot of work to do. But we’re happy we’re making strides in the right direction.”

Of course, the excitement generated by a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open the season in Europe is tempered by this sobering thought: The Stanley Cup champions are up next for the Senators in their home-opener Saturday at Scotiabank Place (7 p.m., CBC, Team 1200).

So much for an ‘easy’ return from their European trip, though at the very least Detroit won’t be completely fresh, as they open the season raising their Cup banner at home against Toronto. I have traveled through just as many time zones and more — minus the extreme physical output hockey requires — and getting over the jetlag will be the one real challenge in continuing the weekend’s stellar play. All we as fans can do is make sure they return to as boisterous an arena as possible, so be loud and proud Sens Army! (and start snatching up the 750 tickets or so I hear are still available)

• More previews for the season.

Sure, it’s already started, but we know you want more previews. A while back, I had a bushel of Senators preview stories from the Ottawa Citizen. Today, we have a selection from the Ottawa Sun, enjoy.

Heatley growing in the spotlight (Ottawa Sun).

“Unbelievable,” Foligno said when asked what kind of presence Heatley carries in the Senators dressing room. “You look at him, and he doesn’t have to say much, but you just know he’s such an elite player in this league. He doesn’t demand respect, but he just gets it, because of the way he acts. It’s great having a guy like him to learn from. It’s not so much what they say, it’s more what they do.”

It was not hard to call the man who nearly gave the Sens a trio of 50-goal, 100-point seasons a valuable contributor. Now, as he adopts an all-around game and takes over the departed Redden’s alternate captaincy, it looks like the character Murray worked to acquire during the offseason might not be the only well available to tap. Especially with all the young faces on or gunning for a spot with the team, having as talented a player as Heatley working on all aspects of his game only further helps to get the message across to everyone in the Sens organization, that everything you do is important in defining who you are.

Smith ready to lead the team on the ice, help bring them together off it (Ottawa Sun).

“He’s not just a hockey player, he’s a consummate professional and just a wonderful person,” said Flyers coach John Stevens. “He was a great addition to our team last year. Whether it’s a hard day or an easy day, he loves being at the rink. He’s always looking out for the team.

“He’s as strong a character guy as you’re going to find in the game of hockey. Even on days off, he comes into the rink. He’s there early and he’s waiting for guys. If somebody is down, he gets them up. He’s focused. He plays hurt. He’ll do whatever he can do to help the hockey team.”

It says an immense amount about a player when he can be brought in for one year to help out a struggling club, and he is named captain. The leadership core in Ottawa just grows stronger with Smith on the team. Not only that, but when you remember that it was Smith making Crosby’s time on the ice a real pain through last year’s playoffs while dealing with two separated shoulders, the work ethic around Ottawa is sure to have a solid influence.

Solid Senators defence will help the team move forward (Ottawa Sun).

Will the new Ottawa defence take time to gel?

“It can happen quick. The biggest thing is we don’t want any of them to try to do anything they’re not capable of doing,” said Senators coach Craig Hartsburg, one of the NHL’s top power-play defencemen during his 10-year career. “If you start to ask people to do things that are out of their skill set or their mindset, that’s when you run into problems.

“As a group, they all should be able to defend and we should be really strong defensively. As for the transition part, we’re not asking them to make breakaway passes every time they touch the puck. We want to make sure the puck is moving and it’s getting our forwards into a position where they can do something with it. Hopefully, it won’t take long. There’s always some time with new partners.

“We’re not going to rely on one pair to carry us. It’s going to be six guys every night that are asked to do it.”

Hopefully it will always be six guys every night that are asked to work the blueline (and a full and more evenly used twelve asked to work up front). Watching the weekend Premiere Series, it was clear that Phillips, Volchenkov, and Smith would all be working hard to make opposing players pay, while everyone was going to work as a team, without the individual mindset that could lead to more trouble.

I still think it would benefit both our overall puckmoving balance along with Lee and Picard’s development if Volchenkov and Phillips were split up to be paired with the youngsters (reunited of course against one-line teams and on penalty kills), but I have no reason to doubt Hartsburg’s coaching skills, let alone with respect to defence.

Gerber set to be solid in net (Ottawa Sun).

“There hasn’t been a really big change or new approach this year,” said Gerber. “The big thing is you’ve just got to make sure you’re ready from the start. “Last year, if I wanted to get some ice time, I had to be ready to get going at the beginning. It’s the same for me this year.

“If you want to get your ice time, you have to be prepared, be ready and make sure you do whatever you can to help your team win games. I believe that’s the only way that you can approach this.”

The Senators say they have the right man for the job. Nikolai Khabibulin, recently placed on waivers by Chicago, is one name that keeps coming up in rumours. The reality is Gerber is going to be the man.

I will keep bringing it up as long as I have to: Gerber was 4th among playoff goaltenders in Sv%, behind only Conference (and Cup) finalists Turco, Fleury, and Osgood, and while they faced about 30 shots (or 22 in Osgood’s case) a night, Gerber had the pressure of facing 40 a night behind Ottawa. He’s got a good attitude, not likely to slash the net after a bad goal (as Fleury did on Sunday), and not likely to be rattled. Give him his fair shot, as Hartsburg is doing, and you can look forward to being surprised. If all else fails, that it’s a contract year will give Gerber plenty of personal motivation to shine.

Ruutu, along with the Senators’ other new faces, will be a key piece to the puzzle of crafting a successful team (Ottawa Sun).

Jarkko Ruutu was added as an off-season free agent, not for his opportune scoring touch but more for the fact he’s very much the type of pain in the butt of opposing teams that the Senators needed.

Ottawa fans who cursed the then-Pittsburgh Penguins winger for his Apr. 16 goal that buried their team will soon call him one of their favourites. Before long, Ruutu Rooters should have their own T-shirts and inhabit at least a small section at Scotiabank Place.

Hate him when he plays for them, love him when he’s on your side.

That’s Jarrko.

For those who enjoy the unique talent of guys like Tucker, Avery, and Ott, Jarkko surely made you smile when he was ‘pushed’ by a linesman into falling on top of Crosby’s face over the weekend. No doubts about whether he has any sentimental feelings towards his captain, or team, from last year, Cup run and all.

For those who want to see more hard work from our 3rd and 4th liners, especially defensively, look to Jarkko once more. Killing penalties aggressively and clearing the puck from danger again and again, Ruutu looked right at home behind our blueline. There’s a lot more to him than meets the eye, and you can bet he’ll help transform this team into a grittier experience for all 29 teams we face this season.

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