SENShobo
The Game That Could Determine The Course
by SENShobo on 01/20/09 at 07:57 AM ET
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Just enough for a tease thus far, a faint glimmer of hope that the pundits can be defied.
With five points in three games, the Senators are feeling confident once more.
Hosting the Capitals tonight, the League’s top goal scorer in Ovechkin, and a team that has not yet lost as many games as Ottawa’s poor season has seen them win, there just might be cause for concern over that confidence, with the Sens’ direction for the second half resting fairly firmly in the hands of this one game.
From the Ottawa Citizen,
Defenceman Anton Volchenkov (shoulder) and right-winger Shean Donovan (lower body) are definitely out against the Capitals. Defenceman Jason Smith (lower body) is a question mark.
If there’s good news in the situation for the Senators, it’s that centre Jason Spezza says he should be fine.
Spezza, who has one goal and three assists in his past four games, left practice early yesterday because of back pain.
“I think I will be fine to play; it’s just a little bit of tightness,” Spezza said later, though he wouldn’t be more specific. “It’s just something I did in the last few days. I don’t know (what happened). It just kind of got tight. When I got out there (yesterday), I just didn’t feel very good and figured there was no point in aggravating it. I think I will be OK (today).”
Volchenkov will benefit from an extra week without any strain from games or hard practices, but it should be evident in that they had considered playing him that there was hope that he could help shut down the high-scoring Capitals to send Ottawa to a relaxing All-Star break. Schubert practiced at forward and Bell drew back into the defense pairings, but there is speculation that Peter Regin could be called up, with uncertainty as to whether Gerber’s conditioning stint allows for Ottawa’s 23-man roster to be increased during that time.
Elliott will get the toughest look of his brief NHL career when he tries to contain players like Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, and Green, rebounds being a quick funerary sendoff tonight. Even an abysmal, pulled-early performance though, and I still wouldn’t expect Murray to think about sending Elliott down, though I expect a strong game from the Sens tonight.
From the Ottawa Sun,
Senators coach Craig Hartsburg wants to see is a strong effort.
“We have to continue the team part of the game,” said Hartsburg. “We have to have to be a good team every night to have a chance. It’s not going to be two or three guys who are going to win it for us. We have seen some of that progress. We’ve played a tighter, better game, helping our defence.
“We’re going to have to do a great job against Washington in those areas. It’s easier to sell when people see what they’re doing is giving us a chance to win. We’ve gone through this at times where we’ve done it for three or four games and then we fall off. This is a big test because we weren’t perfect against Montreal, but we found way to get a point.”
The article also speculates that the All-Star break will have Murray hearing offers for players including Spezza, Vermette, Neil, Schubert, Fisher, Ruutu, and Kuba. Depending on the Sens’ success tonight, it could very well determine Murray’s attitude at the trade deadline.
Despite those rumours, the salaries of Spezza and Fisher should keep them in Ottawa uniforms for a long time. Before the last two games, Vermette had been scoring every other game, notching 9 points in 11 games, and unless offers start increasing in value, he won’t be moving soon either. Ruutu has been a dependable presence, not only throwing opponents off their game, but showing great defensive acumen, even chipping in offensively here and there; he won’t likely be on his way either, unless some clearly beneficial offer emerges. Neil and Schubert won’t elicit great offers, but considering the glut of defensemen expected with the youth in Binghamton, as well as with Bass available as a physical presence next season (surgery ended this campaign for him), Murray’s ears might be a little more open on this front. While Kuba remains highly marketable, GMs will point to his lone goal when they try to lowball Murray, and so only truly interested GMs will take action, what with Bouwmeester, Kaberle, and even Pronger rumoured to be available.
Tonight’s game will work as well as any to set the tone for Murray’s All-Star break, and it should be a fast, physical affair, your last dose for a week. Let’s hope Alfie isn’t too tired from paying his debts. And I’ll be hoping to get my own busy week under wraps leading up to my trip to Montreal for the festivities.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Ottawa Senators | SENShobo | Permalink
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