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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.
Currently, Ottawa ranks 12th in scoring with 3.08G/G and is tied with three other teams for 18th with 3.00GA/G. The concern is that this margin is just +0.08, and has been falling for a while now from higher points earlier in the season.
Spezza’s back no doubt hampers his ability to break his own goalless drought, Cheechoo’s missing wheels likewise keeping him stuck with just a pair of assists. But familiarity could be the hardest enemy here. Neither Cheechoo nor Michalek is used to the more responsible albeit still aggressive game of Clouston over McLellan in San Jose, and still no one can really anticipate the passes Kovalev can thread through defenders onto anything-but-open sticks, or just how well he can fish it out of troubled zones. The defence is only now breathing a sigh of relief as Kuba returns, and Leclaire probably wasn’t over his illness the last time he played, even if he didn’t feel as dizzy.
Can you tell that I don’t see a lot to be hopeful for? It’s not that the tools aren’t there. Kuba, Campoli, Picard, and Lee do not have stone hands. Foligno, Regin, and Shannon should all be building on their past successes. All scoring forwards should be on an upward turn from the basement totals of last year. But it takes time to find yourself again, and no amount of off-season moves or training, no amount of pre-season games can bring you that.
Problem is, Tampa Bay is hitting their stride now. Even with Lecavalier having fewer goals (2) than Ruutu (4), they’ve still been able to rally behind the rookie talents of Hedman, the one-year-removed-from-rookie improvements of Stamkos, and the rookie-with-the-Bolts play of Niittymaki.
I’m leaning towards a closer game than the 7-1 or 5-2 romps the teams have split so far, but with the Lightning holding the edge in all pre-game categories; Volchenkov will be missed. But what I’d like to see? Cheechoo. Sure, he’s lost his wheels this season, and won’t be able to rush into scoring position as they break into the zone quite the way he did when he had 56 goals next to Thornton, but he still has his hands.
He’s known for being willing to go to the gritty areas, right? So put him there: right in front of the crease, on the power play and at even strength. There will only be a need for the grit to stand there that few other Senators have, and the hands that Neil definitely doesn’t possess, and he may as well be a car on cinder blocks with how little skating he’d really need. Old dogs can learn new tricks, but for now I’ll call it a personal pipe dream.
From the Ottawa Citizen, on the Senators’ face off troubles,
Winchester might get the nod simply because he’s good in the faceoff circle and the Senators haven’t been recently. They’ve fallen to 28th in the league at 46.6 per cent. The Lightning, by contrast, are fifth at 52.3 per cent.
At least two of Atlanta’s goals in Saturday’s 3-1 loss came after lost faceoffs.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a concern,” Clouston said, “but it’s something we have to get better at.
“If you look at who we’ve had in the lineup the last couple of games, in comparison to who we had taking faceoffs last year, I mean, other than the last 18 games, (Antoine) Vermette was taking a lot of draws for us. (Spezza) took a lot of draws. He has had a real good year so far (55.8 per cent). Jesse took draws for us and (Fisher) took draws for us.
Only Spezza (55.8%) has been a difference maker for the team so far, with Fisher (50.5%), Regin (42.9%), and Kelly (38.0%) showing varying levels of disappointment for a team that has fallen from 6th and 51.8% to 28th and 46.6% in face offs. Last year? The team had Vermette (58.4%), a better Winchester (56.8%), Spezza (53.3%), a better Regin (53.2%), as well as Fisher (51.2%) and Kelly (47.4%).
Unlike a power play and a penalty kill, in which positioning can be practiced, face offs and the ability to work on them depend greatly on the competition. With Vermette’s skill gone, and Winchester’s unavailability, there hasn’t been much skill at the dot for the players to feed off each other with, the same way that Alfie’s undoubtedly had better post-practice keep aways thanks to the presence of Kovalev. There could be some improvement in that department with Winchester’s return, but given the two face off goals Atlanta scored, perhaps the key message is that players need to hustle from the moment the whistle blows, and not wait for the play to set itself up before getting in gear.
From the Ottawa Citizen, on the H1N1 flu shot,
Until this week, Daniel Alfredsson had pretty much decided against getting an H1N1 flu vaccination. Now the Ottawa Senators captain is not so sure.
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And even when the vaccine is made available to the broader public, the team will not mandate that each player get a shot. That’s a personal decision, head coach Cory Clouston said Wednesday.
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“[The Swedish Olympic committee] said they would like everyone to have the vaccine before the Olympics,” Alfredsson said on Wednesday.The committee doesn’t demand that the athletes get vaccinated, he said, but “they pretty well strongly recommend it.”
The flu has made rounds among the population on both sides of the boards, and as much as there are ‘high risk’ groups, no one is really any safer from exposure, just in their ability to handle infection.
I can speak from experience, as a member of a high risk group due to my diabetes, that the flu shot shouldn’t be feared; yes I’ve gotten it, and have experienced some of the effects, notably a sore shoulder and a sore throat, both to be expected. I can speak from experience on the flu as well, a family member tackling H1N1 in Canada for the government from upper levels of the public service, that it should not be feared.
All the flu shot does is show your body a dead version of the virus (dead as in cannot infect you) to boost your immune system response to it, so your body can fight it off should you come into contact with it. When some people claim they’ve become infected by it, it’s just your body reacting the way it would to the actual flu, giving you some symptoms (like my sore throat) as your body reacts the way it would to the flu, though symptoms are not guaranteed, lucky for you. Get educated, yes, but don’t believe rumours you hear third-hand at work, or on some message board of conspiracy theorists, or hey, even me; talk to someone you can trust and who would be an authority on the subject, because the dumbest thing you can do is not be educated.
From the Ottawa Citizen, on Binghamton’s visit to Ottawa,
The last time he was in the nation’s capital, he was in an Ottawa uniform. This time, in Sunday’s 3 p.m. start, he’ll be playing his third and fourth games in an AHL uniform (he played his second Wednesday night in Albany).
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“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said Wednesday. “It’s a great feeling to play in those arenas. It doesn’t matter what jersey I’m in, I’m going to do my best.”Karlsson said he’s adjusting to life in the AHL. He was initially shocked at the demotion, but he’s now over it and knows he has to raise his game if he wants a return trip to Ottawa.
It’s cheaper tickets, it’s a team you don’t often get to see, it’s the Senators’ future; what more reason do you need to show up on Sunday at Scotiabank Place?
From the Ottawa Sun, on next year’s rookie tournament,
An Ottawa Senators-hosted rookie camp with four NHL teams could be coming to the Invista Centre next September.
Last night, Kingston city council approved a bid headed by the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) to host next year’s camp — featuring practices and six exhibition games — Sept. 10-14.
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At least a couple of other Eastern Ontario communities are expected to submit bids to host the event. The Senators expect to make a decision on a site before the end of the year.
If this happens, I do recommend making the trip out to the tournament, to see how fired up our boys can get, giving their best effort to make the main camp and possibly the team. I’ve been fortunate enough to see the tournament for a number of years here in Kitchener, leaving me unsurprised with the demotion of Karlsson this season or Regin’s rise. It’ll be sad for me should the event move, but that’s the nature of the beast.
Finally, the Ottawa Senators’ website has hope that the World Juniors could feature many Ottawa prospects, such as Karlsson, Lehner, Jakob Silfverberg, and Andre Petersson for Sweden, Cowen and Patrick Wiercioch for Canada, and Chris Wideman for the U.S. Also some updates on the recent success of recent picks Derek Grant and Mike Hoffman.
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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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