Ottawa Buries Another Goalie's Career

Having tricked* Pascal Leclaire into reporting to the Senators' AHL affiliate, Murray today ensured Leclaire would stay there a while by putting him on waivers. Leclaire's fragile nature being common knowledge, the likelihood of another team picking him off waivers is approximately zero.

This is one of those moves I don't really understand. If Leclaire reports, and there's every indication he will, Melnyk is still stuck paying Leclaire's salary. And frankly at this point there's no need for cap space, Murray having done nothing with the availability provided through the departures of Fisher and Kovalev -- well except for paying for "Mister" Anderson's increased cost over Elliot's salary.

(Thinks: Murray did the same thing to Cheechoo last year, and I didn't understand it then, either.)

Leclaire played some lights-out games for the Senators. I thought he showed glimpses of being the true #1, franchise goalie that the Senators have been waiting for. His second biggest problem was that when he wasn't getting let down by the lack of defensive zone coverage, he was getting let down by the almost total lack of generated offense at the far end of the ice.

However, since he couldn't stay healthy for 60 consecutive minutes, it was all academic anyways.
--
* I kid. (I think.)

What I'd Do

So it has been a couple of weeks since the money behind the team announced that he'd seen the light, the cup isn't coming to Ottawa this year after all. Mr. Melnyk also announced that both Clouston and Murray would remain in their jobs for the rest of the year.

Color me underwhelmed.

I am of two minds about this.

Firstly, I approve of keeping Clouston as the coach for the rest of the year. Mr. Melnyk is already paying two other guys to not coach the team, he doesn't need a third. I've long said that the coach isn't the problem with this team.

Secondly, I have mixed feelings about keeping Murray. I think that the on-ice product that the team has now has to be laid at his feet, no matter how badly the ice was tilted against him by his predecessor. Murray's handling of the big team's roster can only be described as poor, as if he is spending his time looking for the single missing piece that would return the team to their 2007 form. The problem is that those single pieces that he's come up with have underperformed, while at the same time key pieces have been slipping through his fingers.

On the plus side, he's drafted like a bear. The prospect larder is well stocked, perhaps to the point where the team will have to trade some defense prospects to avoid wasting their value. Forwards-wise we have some prospects who should fit in the second- and third-line positions quite nicely, even if we don't have any elite prospects in the pipeline.

The problem is, the draft is a long time away. The run up to deadline day has been about trading, and Murray's trading record isn't very strong.

He's also still making noises about a "one year rebuild", which isn't that much of a softening of his "one tweak and we're in" pattern of action over the last few years. So while he says everyone but Alfie and (we presume) Karlsson are for sale, I don't buy it.

So personally I'm worried about keeping him in place through this important trading period. The only thing keeping him in place as far as I'm concerned is a lack of a credible candidate to drop in right now to replace him.

My personal attitude is that we are looking at a full rebuild here, and the sooner Melnyk signs on to that the sooner we'll start actually building something and stop sinking further behind. This means a three, maybe five year program.

With that kind of schedule you have to wonder where your players are going to be in their careers when the stretch run comes. Of the current team today, who is still going to be playing like they belong on a contending team in three years?

If it were me:

Forwards:

Alfie: the fans love him, and he's given his life and soul for this team. That said, if a contending team offered anything, I'd approach Alfie about the trade. Alfredsson deserves a cup ring, and Ottawa won't be able to deliver him one. If a chance comes up, he deserves the opportunity to take it if he wants. Personally I doubt he'd take the chance. But should the opportunity arise, the decision needs to be his.

Spezza: Like him or loath him, Spezza is an elite centre. He can playmake out of nothing and when he's on, magic can happen. That said, where will he be in three to five years? Right now if a decent offer came, I'd trade him if possible because I know the team surrounding him can't make decent use of his skills, and I wonder if he'll still have it when the stretch run comes. And this better be a trade where in hind-sight we look back and say "that was worth it". No Heatley-style trades. Odds are he's untradable due to cap and no-movement. I'll enjoy his play if he stays, he's definitely an asset. He'll be the leadership of the immediate future if he stays.

Michalek: If I can keep him cheap, I'd keep him. He isn't the elite we perhaps hoped he would mature into, but he's a grinder and can make things happen. His speed seems to be coming back, too. He'd provide a good sense of leadership for the younger players.

Fisher: I would trade him if I could. Fisher is a popular player with the ability to score and make things happen, bu the bottom line is that he hasn't been playing to his salary. I would trade him for a salary dump from another team as long as the incoming contract ended before Fisher's does, just to get his money off the books.

Foligno: I would keep him. I suspect he will be cheap to re-sign next time around because he certainly isn't lighting up the numbers right now. I personally think he's capable of more, and if I can have it cheap, I'll take it.

Kelly: Probably too expensive to keep, trade if I can. I would prefer to keep, since the Kelly-Ruutu-Neil line provides energy, is entertaining to watch, and is liked by the fans. Plus they can get goals here and there too.

Kovalev: I love the guy's play to death, but he hasn't been worth $5 million by any stretch of the imagination. Trade him if I can -- even at firesale rates. Don't re-sign if I can't.

Neil: Keep for now. Personally I doubt contenders will be trading for his kind of "character".

Regin: Like Foligno, is underperforming and will probably be cheap to re-sign. I say keep.

Ruutu: His contract is up again this year. While he's a bit expensive for my tastes, I'd keep him, but I wouldn't consider it the end of the world if someone else wanted to trade for him.

Shannon: Another underperforming youngster. I say keep.

Smith. See Shannon, Regin, Foglino. Keep.

Winchester: I think his window is closing. Trade if we can.

Defence:

Campoli: If we can keep him cheap, he might have a spot. The problem is that right now we are drowning in 3rd-pairing defencemen. If we can get value for him in trade, I say take it.

Carkner: He is what passes for muscle on this team, and I think for next year anyways we'd need to keep that around until we see if any of the new kids are capable of stepping up.

Gonchar: He's unmovable, but I'd keep him even if he wasn't. No wait, stop laughing. While he may be past his best-before date, and is almost definitely overpaid for what he produces, this guy has been there, done that, at the highest levels. Keeping him around should be a good on-ice influence on these allegedly elite defense prospects like Karlsson and Cowen et al.

Karlsson: I would keep him unless someone offered me the crown jewels. And I'd make them throw in a 1st and a 2nd on top of it. If the right offer came, I'd take it. But the price will be very, very high.

Kuba: I wonder if he is perhaps at the end of his line, he's making too many mistakes and doesn't seem to have much upside. I wouldn't protect him from a trade.

Lee: Seriously, why is Lee even still here? I'd trade him for future considerations, just to get rid of him. Plus it might get his career going as well. Neither the Senators nor Lee are benefiting from the current arrangement.

Phillips: I like Phillips' play. That said, he might have the kind of character that a contender might like. If the right offer came along, trade.

In goal:

Elliott: I'm not one to fit Elliott under the bus by any means. I think he's suffered from poor efforts on the ice in front of him, and to expect excellence from a player in that situation is virtually impossible. Even though I don't think he's a bad goalie, I don't think Elliott will be back next year.

LeClaire: Also suffered from poor efforts in front of him, even when he did play like the elite he's shown flashes of in the past he was let down by a total lack of offense from the guys up front. However since he can't stay healthy for 60 consecutive minutes it is entirely academic. He's untradable. He's injured, so he's unplayable. I think he's done here in Ottawa.

Lehner: Goalie of the future? I dunno, I don't see it. His two starts he was lit up like a pinball machine, even if both times the team provided some offense for once (even if ultimately in a losing cause). I think he'll be the next in a long line of guys who play reasonably well, but not well enough to compensate for a lack of offense up front and poor defensive coverage behind them. He'll be flavor of the month, then get run out of town like Elliott, Auld, Gerber, Emery...

What I'd want in trade: Primarily, picks and prospects. I'll take rookies with potential as well. I'll prefer forwards, since my larder is a bit bare there and I'm reasonably well stocked with defense. I'd make available select prospects in my farm system, but not too many of them, and they won't be cheap.

For long term contracts going out, I'll take short-term salary back as long as it ends this year.

My Plan:

I'm hoping for a three-year rebuild here, but planning for a five-year. Next year is going to be a brutal year for the team, since it will be composed of rookies and veterans who are perhaps past their best. If next year's rookies look like a core we can build around, then I'd go for the three year program; if not, I'd wait another year to see who else we can draft.

As far as my veterans go, I would keep who I could fit from the existing team. The fans like guys like Spezza and Fisher, plus the energy line of Neil-Kelly-Ruutu is entertaining.

In goal I want to grow my own goalie rather than trade for someone who might or might not be done. If Lehner's the guy then great, but I would still be on the prowl for another hot prospect. I'd also be looking for a senior goalie, someone who can be steady in net and can provide mentoring to Lehner (or whomever the next flavor of the month is) before he too gets run out of town, but frankly I'd expect I can pick up someone cheap in free agency for that role.

That's my plan. Not quite fire everyone, but trade who I can, discard who I can, and pack the team with kids with potential. Build the defense around Karlsson. Keep some veterans around to mentor the kids and entertain the fans here and there.

But what do I know?

Defend The Starter

Nice to see the blogosphere defending Leclaire instead of the usual habit of piling on.

I'm not entirely sure I agree with defending him. Last week in the opener Leclaire looked no better than anybody else out there, flopping around like a fish out of water at times.

But the key point right now is than anybody else.

Sens force game 6

Well THAT... that was unbelievable. First time in a long time I've watched a game end-to-end, and first time ever I've stuck with the OT. Most of the time I bail out halfway through OT1 because it is getting late.

Putting LeClaire in tonight was a no-lose decision for Clouston tonight. Everyone (me included, I'll admit) thought that tonight was going to be it, the last game of the season. If LeClaire lost, well the series was over anyways. If they win, everyone's happy. LeClaire played like he was out to prove something, and I think he did. He got a LOT of help from the guys in front of him, and that meant he didn't have to carry the whole effort on his back.

I thought the Senators were outclassed in periods 2 and 3, like they were just waiting for opportunity to be handed to them. Fortunately for them it was handed to them, permitting them to tie the game.

Through OT1 and OT2 I thought that Pittsburgh looked more affected by being tired, with the Senators seemingly able to take the game to the Penguins end almost at will. My theory was that as the teams got tired, the speed factor that the Penguins could bring dropped off much faster than Ottawa's output did. In OT3 the Penguins came back hard, with Ottawa looking more like they were getting run around in their own end. However even though the Penguins were pressing, I didn't think many of the chances were truly dangerous. The Senators hung tough and stayed disciplined and kept the opportunities to a minimum. They still were able to press when the opportunities to go the other way presented themselves, and that resulted in the game winning goal.

So congratulations to the Senators for forcing a game 6 to bring the series back to Ottawa for Saturday. Honestly I still don't think the team can win the series, but I'll happily be wrong again. If the Senators make Pittsburgh earn the win then I'll be satisfied with the end to this year.

Trivia: one commenter on the "Live Blog" thing I was participating in during the OT periods (since my PVR caught up to live TV for once) said that before tonight, the Senators had never won a playoff game when their opponents had 3 wins in the series.

LeClaire sets a franchise record for the number of saves made in a playoff game by an Ottawa Senators goalie with 58 56 stops.

Humour

Two notes from the weekend.

First, how about this for a trade rumor:

LeClaire for Price. Two goalies who are not as bad as the teams in front of them made them look, who are both looking for fresh starts.

Second, in a discussion of this year's season just done:

I be Dany Heatley is glad he didn't go to Edmonton last summer. He'd be a Leaf now!

#1000

I only saw the game from about half-way through the 2nd. But some quick impressions:

• What did I tell you about Alfredsson? Effort at both ends, PK and PP time, and a point. Too bad he couldn't grab a goal, but a win for his 1000th game is what he said he wanted. Class act all the way. The Ottawa Senators will definitely be retiring his #11 once he's done with it.
• LeClaire gave up two goals, one on a bad play by Karlsson, one on a bad line change by the on-ice players. I don't blame him for either of those. He didn't have to make any circus stops, which means that in general the team was playing well in front of him.
• Mike Fisher was on. Two goals and a couple of posts, with another half-dozen quality chances. I give full credit to his linemates for helping to make this happen.
• Karlsson made some excellent plays to compensate for the brain fart that led to the first goal. This kid will be an excellent player one day.
• The own-goal on Florida credited to Neil shows what kind of night it was. The Senators were going to get the bounces, and the Panthers were not.

It was a good game for Ottawa, a nice steady game where the outcome was never really in doubt. This is a good foundation to look to the post-season from.

Healthy Leafs Barely Beat Sick Senators

...or something. I didn't watch -- I was sick.

But really, the first two games back from the Olympic break have had the terrible dialed up to "10" here. I was watching the New York game, and the color guy was talking about the New York coach's decision to call a time out after an icing call to rest his guys... he says: "this is a smart decision, he knows this game could break out either way any time now."

And I said, are you and I watching the same game? Yes, the Senators are pressing, but it is a disorganized pressure -- the Rangers are playing smart, simple, steady hockey in their end. And when the pressure starts to go the other way, the Rangers are still playing smart, steady hockey, while the Senators are running around in their own end. And the Rangers then get rewarded with what, two or three quick goals?

I watched LeClaire's return two nights later, all seven minutes of it before he got the hook. I didn't blame LeClaire on either of those goals, they were clearly the fault of the guys ahead of him on the ice. Unfortunately for LeClaire, Clouston can't hook the rest of the team... Elliot played well in relief, but showed what kind of night it was when he left his net for the sixth attacker late in the third and the empty net goal goes in before Elliot even gets off the ice. (Was Karlsson laughing or crying at that?) Add in both Alfredsson and Spezza being unable to convert on a break, and it just wasn't the Senators' night.

I still can't believe that Murray thinks this team is set for a deep playoff run.

Sometimes You're The Puppy

Let's get the honest stuff out first: the Leafs were the better team out there tonight. They won the battles for loose pucks, they didn't make stupid errors in their own end, they capitalized on the Senators' mistakes, they kept the shooting lanes full in front of their goalie and limited the number of truly great saves he had to make.

Other thoughts:

• Toronto's acquisition of a goalie equips them nicely to drag themselves just out of contention rather than sinking to, and bouncing off of, the bottom of the standings. This is in Ottawa's interest so that Boston ends up with a smaller chance of drawing a franchise player in the entry draft with Toronto's pick. Yes, we are in a position of wanting Toronto to win (more) so that Boston doesn't get any better. That's hockey for you.
• I don't blame either Elliot or LeClaire for either of Schenn's goals. Neither one of them should have ever got that far. However, I expect a chorus of disdain for "momentum-sapping soft goals" from the bloggosphere, when the real culprit is a failure to control the offensive blue line properly, coughing up a bad rush.
• Similarly, the first goal, poked in by the Ottawa player, was a bad bounce. It set the tone for the game, where Toronto got the bounces and Ottawa didn't. Fine; in the grand scheme of things it all evens out, and I am sure that Ottawa benefited from their fair share of good bounces through the previous eleven games.
• But take the two Schenn goals and the first goal off the scoreboard, and Ottawa still got owned 2-0 tonight.
• So with the almost comically bad defense that Ottawa played tonight, I guess the reaction has to be Wow, maybe Karlsson really is that good.
• Toronto had a surprising amount of jump for a team that had played, and lost, and traveled, the night before. I guess winning the game does that for you.
• Someone explain to me again why Carkner and Orr going at it like that was a good thing. Ottawa was only down by one at that point, and was pressing Toronto pretty good -- had anything gone in at that point, it would have swung the momentum far better than monkey bashing would have (even if the "correct" monkey got bashed from Ottawa's point of view). Dumb. But shows what I know.
• The slashing call on Kovalev was lazy-assed officiating. But the hooking and slashing that Kovalev was doing was lazy-assed hockey, so that's karma for you. Ottawa benefited from the lazy-assed officiating with the Orr penalty for cross-checking, so it all more or less evens out. As you would expect. For the most part the officials stayed consistently out of it.
• I'm really tired of listening to the ACC crowd booing Alfredsson. It makes me think of Scotiabank Place booing Chara. At least the Toronto fans have reason to be aggrieved with Alfredsson -- but it still comes across as a bunch of ignorant hicks. Unfortunately the only way to shut up the ACC crowd is to beat their team on the ice, and Ottawa couldn't do that tonight.

Next up is Calgary visiting Scotiabank Place. I'm 0-2 with my last two predictions, so I'll pick Calgary to win, and I promise to only watch the third period (since whenever I do that, Ottawa wins). But realistically the game is one of those games which is too close to call ahead of time. Calgary has fewer points than Ottawa does, but does so in a stronger conference; but on the other hand, they are travelling.

The real test will be how the team faces this setback. And this week never looked good for Ottawa. The opponents we get between now and the Olympic break? After Calgary, there's Washington, Detroit, and the New York Islanders. Of those, only the Islanders can be considered close to a gimmie -- but how many of us assumed Toronto would be a gimmie?

Let's hope Karlsson isn't really that important to the defense.

The Savior Has Come

If the rumors floating around are true, LeClaire is not just a fragile goalie, he is a ridiculously fragile goalie. The story is that during practice yesterday morning in New York, Mike Fisher fired a rocket into LeClaire's mask, with the result that LeClaire now has a concussion (or as it will be explained on the press releases, an "upper body injury"). This could keep him out indefinitely. Isn't having a fragile goalie fun!

(Maybe Mike Fisher just doesn't like LeClaire, as the shot which broke LeClaire's cheek in November came off his stick, too. I jest...)

So with Brian Elliot battling the flu instead of the puck for a change, the team made an emergency callup of Mike "No Relation" Brodeur. And lo, did the savior do his good work: Ottawa bounced the Rangers 2-0 in their own rink.

So from two career starts, Brodeur has two wins, one shut-out, a 0.5 goals-against average, and a 0.982 save-percentage.

Clearly Ottawa has found our new franchise goalie.

</sarcasm>

Both times Brodeur has been called up, the team has been struggling with a sudden injury. Most of the time such a shock will prompt a team into playing over their heads for a game or two, and I think that these examples fit this general scenario quite well.

If LeClaire is out for a while, clearly Brodeur will have to stay while Elliot acts as the primary goaltender. But my feelings about Brodeur are the same I had last year about Elliot: bringing him along too quickly will not be in his best interest.

If only Ottawa fans could tolerate some adversity without jumping up and down for immediate fixes.

Update: The word now is that yes, it is a concussion, but it is probably a concussion that was originally inflicted in the earlier injury and was just aggravated yesterday. So LeClaire is not fragile -- just hurt. And probably really hurt, which means he will be gone for a long period again.

Holiday Spirits

As your present this year, I've decided to pretend that last night didn't happen.

Not that the outcome was terribly surprising if it had happened. Defending Cup Champions, their rink... and what with Ottawa bringing their poor defensive team plan and a goalie ready to be lit up like a Christmas tree (welcome back, Mr. LeClaire!)...

At least the bloggosphere seems to recognize that the problem last night was defense, not goaltending. I guess that's a present for LeClaire.

Next game Saturday in Buffalo, before back home to meet Montreal on Monday.

Merry Christmas, Ottawa Senators fans!

LeClaire Watch, Day 3

LeClaire didn't show at practice this morning, and Mike Brodeur has been called up from Bingo to backup Elliot. So, this isn't likely to be a short injury.

We knew an injury-prone goalie would be a fun ride, but who saw him getting taken out while riding the bench?

(Update: TSN says a broken cheek bone that requires surgery -- he's gone until after Christmas. Nice.)

As Predicted

Listened to the third and OT on the radio. It sounded like Washington just ran out of gas in the third, and the Senators closed in, worked hard, and made the chances count when they had to. The shot count in the third was 18-3 for Ottawa, and 4-0 in OT. Even if they had fallen in OT I think the single point would have been a worthy reward of the comeback effort. However, the team got the goal in OT, so two points it is.

Caught the highlight reel on Sportsnet and that OT goal was something else -- Fisher redirecting the puck in the air into the net. But we'll take it.

Here's hoping LeClaire isn't hurt too badly from either the Saturday incident or the puck tonight. LeClaire can't buy himself any good luck, can he?

Next up: some well-rested New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, Columbus the night after that, and then Boston on Saturday. The Senators will roll into Boston in the same boat that the Capitals were in tonight -- the third game in four nights, and the fourth game in six. Given this schedule, it would be foolish to expect that this winning streak will continue. If the team can keep their heads down, play some simple hockey, they should be able to steal some points by the time the week is done.

High Pressure

(Sorry, thought I'd pressed "publish" on this earlier.)

Watched the Sens game against Buffalo on Saturday. And that was a nice game to watch. I was worried after the first period, when the Senators appeared to keep Buffalo in their own end for most of the period, only to surrender the first goal of the night.

In the second it all came together much better, with good pressure through the end and no stupid mistakes. This carried through the first eight minutes of the third, after which point it got interesting -- the team sitting back more than a little bit, and Elliot being unable to stop to two quick goals that Buffalo put in. After that it was a race between the Senators love of the penalty box (we shall speak no more of this, thank you Chris Neil) and the Buffalo intensity to try and draw back into the game. At the end, Buffalo was pressing 6-on-4, but was unable to capitalize. Elliot made some scrambly looking saves to preserve the win.

Alfredsson had a stand-up game and was rewarded with two goals and an assist and was present at both ends of the ice. The captain continues to lead by example on the ice. Fisher and Michalek were both threats all night. And Kovalev was only conspicuous by his absence -- oh wait, he really was absent this time.

Spezza took it from Don Cherry at the first intermission. Personally I like this Jason Spezza more than last year's model. Yes, last year had more goals, but this year's is more concerned about making plays and then getting back to help out in his own end. Spezza's stats may end up worse on the point total, but on the whole the team is better off. Now if this year's Spezza can step up the goal scoring while keeping his new found discipline, well that would be a win all around.

LeClaire left after the second after taking a ugly looking stretch to his neck. Hopefully he'll be OK to return soon. (Update: Elliot starts against Washington, which is to be expected; but LeClaire is backing him up and there have not yet been any call-ups which implies LeClaire will be back in action soon.)

While the outcome was a good one, the Senators have to continue to win these kinds games. Buffalo was coming off of a loss the previous night, so they were a tired team playing their backup goalie.

Next up will be a stronger test, but still one the Senators should treat as winable -- Washington gave away the shoot out to Toronto on Saturday, and on Monday will be playing for the third time in four days. Washington should tire if the Senators press enough.

We Sure Ain't Calgary

That third period was ugly. Sure, LeClaire did the job, but really, again, he shouldn't have had to. The Leafs carried the game to the Senators much more than the game went the other way, and the shot count shows that. Fortunately for Ottawa, Toronto has even more trouble finishing, but the fact of the matter is that the Leafs ran over the Senators several times.

Even with all that said, LeClaire sure made some super saves in the 3rd, even if luck played more of a factor than some might like.

At the other end of the ice, Toskala looked steady, but again, the Senators didn't seriously rattle his cage any.

I liked Kovalev's efforts to set up Mike Fisher; good on Fisher to finish some of his opportunities. I also like Spezza's defensive discipline. Too bad about his lack of offense.

The problem is that this really was a battle of mediocrity. Ottawa came up the winner tonight, but it was never a sure outcome. I didn't come away feeling like I had been entertained.

One Thing I Don't Get

One thing I don't understand is how people can slam Pascal Leclaire while at the same time admitting that our defense corps is not up to scratch? Take this missive about last night's game:

You can point the finger at Pascal Leclaire and Alex Kovalev for having another bad game but to me, the Senators are carrying an inept set of defenseman who have zero defensive acumen and zero character on the ice.

...ok, that's a bit more even-handed than I first read it. Here's a better one:

Holy crap Pascal Leclaire. I thought I kind of put you on notice about those soft goals. I get that they’re going to happen, but they shouldn’t be happening to us first! That’s Martin Gerber Bush League Goaltending. You’ve got to step it up a bit here buddy. I understand there’s a lot of pressure to playing in a Canadian market, and I get that you had the flu, but there was a reason we were so excited only 15 short games ago. You seemed to deflect everything; point shots, criticism, redirections, invitations to the orthodontist. You name it, and you just weren’t having it. Find your mojo Pascal, and do it quick. Brian Elliott is chomping at the bit.

Really, how can you blame Leclaire for failing to back-stop the team when he is being put in situations that he shouldn't be in?

This has long been a pet peeve of mine. I never thought Gerber was the incompetent clown that many made him out to be. I have long thought that Gerber was a solid, if unspectacular goalie who didn't get the necessary support from the guys in front of him.

There are many nights when Martin Brodeur couldn't win with these guys on the ice in front of him. Blaming Leclaire for everyone else's failings is just short-sighted.

Hockey Night In Montreal

A few quick thoughts about the game in Montreal. Last year, Montreal provided two of the more entertaining pieces of hockey I saw all year. The whatever the team's failings, they always seem to be an energetic group which works hard and makes the other team want to win. So I had high hopes that this would be a good game, featuring speed and effort from both teams.

First. Pascal Leclaire, I am a believer. The Senators had no business being in the same area code as the Montreal Canadians for the first twenty minutes, let alone being ahead for much of the period. That frantic, seemingly disorganized scramble in front of the Ottawa net is becoming more of a routine -- and the more I see it, the less concerned I am, because I just know Leclaire will be there.

Leclaire didn't rob anyone in particular tonight. It is just the same rapid fire chances that the Senators are giving up. In previous years, enough of these would have gone in that we'd have gone into Coach's Corner down at least three.

For all the headlines about the rest of the team, my first, my only star of the night is Pascal Leclaire.

(But even so you have to shout out to the penalty kill performance. Leclaire can't stop five guys coming at him, he needs a little help, and tonight the PK showed patience and discipline.)

Second. I like how Montreal was a curious combination of classy and crass. Crass when Kovalev had his puck possessions for the first couple of periods, yet classy when Kovalev scored his goal to stand up and cheer for him.

I've been amazed watching him -- the details in his puck handling skills are phenomenal. I think once the rest of the team can learn to use his skills, good things will happen more frequently.

Third. Michalek -- fresh from a hat trick in Ottawa, threatening again in a short-handed situation. I love it. He could yet turn into an elite forward.

Overall. One of the commentators tonight noted that the Senators' recent good form can be attributed to a run of softer teams that they have been facing. The real test will come next month and the month after, where they will be playing teams somewhat higher up the food chain. But still, the Senators have traditionally struggled to pick the low hanging fruit, and it is nice that this team, right now, can pick up the so-called "easy" points when they are available.

Optimism

Well due to various reasons I only got to watch the first period last night, and in keeping with the "it's still early days" theme, I'm going to be thinking positive today.

I think putting Michalek, Cheechoo, and Spezza together is going to look like a stunningly brilliant move in the long run. Their first game together and not only did they combine for the only goal of the night, I counted three quality chances that this line put together. Once these guys really click, the goals will come.

I think that Alexi Kovalev is going to be another player that other commentators hate but that I really like to watch. Kovalev was magic with the puck several times, carrying the puck deep into the Penguins' zone, or feathering a pass through the sticks of unsuspecting Penguins players right on the tape of a waiting Senators teammate. Oh, and a no-look drop pass to the left of the Penguins goal that a Penguins defender picked up. I think that again, Kovalev and Alfredsson will start to look very good together.

I still don't like the defensive scramble in front of the Ottawa net. It seems far too frantic and too uncoordinated. But LeClaire is there, most of the time. Commentary from last night blames three of the four goals on funny bounces. If we can get some defensive discipline then this team will look a lot better.

Not As Expected

So up against a "truculent" Leafs team back-stopped by a rookie goalie, the Senators managed to score two: one ugly high-sticked goal, and one penalty shot goal.

The high-stick was ugly. I sure hope that it was clearer in HD, because I couldn't follow the puck through those replays one bit. I said while it was "under review" that I wouldn't be upset if it was called back. But it ended up counting, so onward we go.

The penalty shot was another iffy call (check out Why Have A Rulebook? for all the angle-shot details), and I agree that it should have been two 2-minutes instead of a penalty shot and two minutes... but crowd favorite Alfredsson did the business on Michalek's behalf, and again, onward we go.

I've commented before on the poor quality of the ref'ing, and I think that Toronto would be fully justified in being upset about the way the calls went. But for better or for worse, this is the way the damn game is played right now, and as a Senators fan I like to see the bounces coming our way for a while. We all know that on another night the bounces will go against us.

But back to the game. The Leafs seemed very timid through most of the game; one wondered if they thought that "truculence" was a reference to someone's truck. There was not very much smash and grab on the ice at all -- well Volchenkov's smash excepted, of course.

The Senator's defensive discipline was better this time out. Again the PK did well, only being beaten once. I thought the game was played well, limiting the number of chances served up, and LeClaire coming up with the big saves when he needed to.

I find this goalie growing on me the more I watch him. Nothing builds confidence like actually doing what needs to be done. I don't think he'll be any better if the team just hangs him out to dry like they did so often with Gerber, but while the team is intact in front of him, he's building a good track record of reliability.

No, my concern comes from the opposite end of the ice. Through two games, we've scored four goals, only one of which can count as a "quality" chance -- Spezza feeding Alfredsson in New York. Ugly scrambles in front of the net are a fact of life, but the goals are not pretty. I like pretty, but it looks like I'm going to have to settle for ugly.

If anything, the offence was better in New York than it was in Toronto. To my eye, there were more quality chances available in New York, and it was mostly Lundqvist's play that kept the Rangers ahead. Had some of those chances gone in, the momentum would probably have swung the other way and the result would have been different.

But still, the team has generated very little in terms of offense so far.

It is early days, yes. But I think more was expected against a Toronto team which is not expected to feature in the playoffs this year.

Game 1: Ott 2 NY 5

Well, that went a lot better than it could have.

No, really. I liked what I saw. Ottawa stood pretty firm in the opening frame of the game, and the first two goals came from small lapses in discipline which can be fixed with a little work. Ottawa ran up the shot clock pretty well, even if most of those shots never really had a serious chance.

I liked what I saw of the Ranger's powerplay -- which means the fact that they went 0-5 is a huge achievement by the Ottawa penalty-kill. Obviously LeClaire was a huge part of that, but since the power play is a big part of scoring in today's NHL, having a competent PK is a big part of being able to stay in a game.

Spezza and Alfredsson rang up the first goal to bring the Senators back into the game -- somehow the Captain always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

After watching Kovalev go to work for an entire game, I think that his puck-handling is going to infuriate the same people who love to ride Spezza. When it works it is going to be brilliant, but when it doesn't...

So overall, I'm optimistic after having watched all that.

Preseason Jitters

Random, disconnected thoughts about the pre-season:

First, I'm not too excited about the results. With the exception of the second loss to the Panthers, I think the results on the scoreboard have more to do with the preseason rosters being iced against the Senators, and the preseason roster the Senators are icing. So while the win against Montreal was fun, it doesn't mean anything except maybe that Carey Price is still not back on top of his game.

Second. I like the look of Peter Regin. His solid, diciplined play would definitely be an asset on the team. Besides, thanks to his work Mike Fisher now has more goals in this season than he did in all of last season. (I jest. But not by much.) Anything that boosts Fisher's production can only be a good thing.

Third. I would like to see Erik Karlsson sent to Bingo for this year. While he's shown some flashes of skill, I think his game needs another year in the somewhat easier environment of the AHL. Right now the Senators are choking in mediocre blue-liners, and I think we will get a better look at Karlsson's potential either later in the year as an injury-replacement call up, or next year in camp again. The last thing we want to do is try to bring Karlsson along too quickly and ruin him.

Fourth. The top line of Michalek, Spezza and Alfredsson was disturbingly quiet when we've seen them go. While it will be nice to get three lines with scoring potential, the top line has to get it done.

Fifth: I don't buy that Leclaire is all that and a bag of chips. Why? I can't really say, it's just a feeling. Right now I'd take him over Brian Elliot, but I'm a bit worried about the goaltending at this point.

Finally: Thank god we don't have to play the Leafs six million times this pre-season.

Overall, though, as I have said -- nothing to get excited about. We'll have a much better picture as November rolls around.