Posted by Gord Wilson on February 28, 2008

Greetings, everyone, from  Philadelphia, where the Senators are to face off against the Flyers tonight.

Less than 24 hours after a very busy, hectic and emotional day yesterday, Bryan Murray took to the ice today as head coach of this hockey team after firing John Paddock yesterday. For just the third time in  franchise history, this team has made a mid-season coaching change. The other two times happened in the  same  year, when Dave Allison replaced  Rick Bowness, then Allison himself was replaced by Jacques Martin, back in the '95-96 season.

Players' reaction is critical when a move this drastic is made, so it will be very interesting to see how this team responds tonight against a very desperate Flyers team. If the morning skate is any indication, the players were focused and fairly intense during the brief workout. Coach Murray is not going to change any of the lines from  yesterday's  practice, lines created by Paddock. The big three are back together, while  newcomer Martin Lapointe will skate on a line with Fisher and Robitaille. Stillman,  Vermette and Kelly stay together, and the fourth line will be Schubert, McAmmond and Donovan. Nick  Foligno is the odd man out tonight.

Murray will make a tweak to the defence  pairings, putting Meszaros back with Redden, while Commodore will pair up with Richardson.

Bryan Murray's message to his players was a simple one... work hard, but have fun.

It's been pretty apparent of late that the fun in the game has been replaced by tension.

As for the  Flyers, they too are desperate for wins to try to stay in the race for a playoff spot. They won their last game, a 4-3 shootout win against Buffalo, and it was their first victory in 11 games. Newcomer  Vaclav Prospal was a trade deadline deal made by Paul Holmgren and he's expected to play with Danny Briere and R.J. Umberger.

Martin Biron is expected  to start for the Flyers, while Ray Emery goes for the Senators. Don't forget this  game is on Sens TV pay-per-view, with Dean, Grant Ledyard, Patricia Boal and myself... it's a 7'oclock start. It  can also be  heard on the Team 1200 radio network, with Dave and Shaun Van Allen.

And  how do you like the pics, compliments of my Bell Samsung 610 camera phone? If you can enlarge the Marty Lapointe  picture, you'll notice Deano, hard at work, gathering information in the background. 

Enjoy the game everyone,   

cheers, gord

Posted by Gord Wilson on February 27, 2008

Greetings, everyone, from about 35,000 feet above sea level. I construct this blog in between games for the Senators. Off to Philadelphia at the time of this writing, a few hours after another demoralizing loss, this time to the Boston Bruins... 4-0 the final. This was yet another game that clearly showed what confidence, or in this case, lack thereof, has gripped the Senators. Every mistake seems to end up as either a scoring chance or goal and, oddly enough, the highest-scoring team in the league can't seem to compensate.

All that being said, the trade deadline has come and gone, and I suppose certain players can breathe a sigh of relief. Antoine Vermette was one who has heard his name mentioned in just about every Sens rumour and, by his own admission yesterday, said he was happy the day has come and gone. His pre-game ritual consists of an afternoon nap and yesterday, he was able to have one of those.

So the Senators make one move on 'trade day,' acquiring veteran Martin Lapointe from the Hawks. A few things I've heard about Lapointe, a former Bruin who put up some pretty good numbers for the B's. Words to describe him were durable, gritty and good leadership qualities. All things needed for a Senators team that seems to have lost its way. Oh, and he's apparently got an awesome wine cellar (I happened to see a feature on him done by the NHL a few weeks back. Apparently, it's legendary!).

In any case, with the absence of Chris Neil for the next four weeks or so, Lapointe might be just what the doctor ordered. We'll see. He's got his first practice with the Senators today in Philadelphia, then will be in the lineup tomorrow evening (pay-per-view broadcast, by the way).

All right, so let's take a look at some of the trades made on Deadline Day. Everyone has their own way of evaluating and really, until the season comes to an end, there's no way of really looking at winners and losers. For instance, if the Penguins fall flat and get bounced in the first or second round of the playoffs, or even fail to make the playoffs, their deal with the Thrashers to acquire Marian Hossa will be considered a bust. Right now, though, man does it look good.

To me, it's a deal that makes this Penguin club an instant contender in the East (if they weren't already). Crosby, Malkin, Hossa ... eeech, scary stuff. So hats off to Ray Shero. He'll look even better if Ty Conklin can continue his winning ways.

From the Southeast Division, the Washington Capitals got serious about the playoffs with their moves made yesterday. Acquiring Cristobal Huet from the Canadiens gives them some goaltending depth and stability, and Fedorov from Columbus replaces the injured Nylander in the middle and also puts him with fellow Russians Ovechkin, Semin and Kozlov.

Quietly, I like what the Devils have done. Depth wise, they've strengthened an already strong lineup. Cam Janssen hadn't played a game this year, but they turned him into Bryce Salvador, a dependable, tough defenceman who will help that club. It appears Lou's kool-aid reached the desks of John Davidson and Larry Pleau.

By the way, I ran into former Capitals coach Glen Hanlon in the Boston press box last night and, while he liked George McPhee's moves, Hanlon did say that the challenge put out to Olie Kolzig would be a good one. Kolzig won last night, so maybe he's not quite ready to relinquish his No. 1  status.

Montreal's move to say goodbye to Cristobal Huet is intriguing to say the least. Remember back to the start of the season, when head coach Guy Carbonneau said Huet would be the starter for Montreal. GM Bob Gainey was very quick to step in and say "wait a minute, Carey Price is going to start the season with us." Well, guess who's the starter today, and expected starter if the Habs make the playoffs. Price.

Teams like Tampa and Toronto are teams that have an eye toward the future. Such is life in a salary cap world. Every team is, at some point, going to have to go through a rebuilding "pay the price now" situation, where they have to give up some of their core to gain something for the future. Leafs and Tampa are going through that now.

Out West, good gravy. How much fun is it going to be to watch the Western playoff teams beat each other up before the Cup final. Every team, with the exception of Anaheim, has used the Ducks as the measuring stick. Load up with some talent and toughness and you might have a chance.

I'll go out on a limb and say if the Dallas Stars can continue on the path they're on right now, they'll stand as good a chance as anyone to get out of the West. The addition of Brad Richards is a huge move, not just on the ice but in the locker room. What a message this sends to the players on one of the hottest teams in the league. Watch out for the Stars.

Sharks have done a good thing by getting Brian Campbell from the Sabres, but don't expect instant miracles. His transition from Eastern Conference hockey to Western Conference play could take a bit of time.

Minnesota has a playoff team, but the addition of Chris Simon clearly indicates they want to get more toughness to compete with the Ducks and other teams that want to run other teams out of the rink.

All in all, a good day yesterday was for 30 general managers. The NHL's salary cap world has forced everyone to think a little harder about how teams are built or tinkered with, which is something we'll all get used to and perhaps embrace.

And in fairness, final evaluation can't be made on all of yesterday's deals until the day after the Stanley Cup is awarded in early June.

cheers, gord

Posted by Gord Wilson on February 26, 2008

Greetings, everyone, from Boston, where the Senators are to play the Bruins tonight.

So, here  we are... the trade deadline has come and gone, and the Senators have made one move. A depth move in acquiring Martin Lapointe from the Chicago Blackhawks. It's a move that means addition without subtraction. And that should be very comforting for the players on the roster. What it means is the Senators will try to defend their Eastern Conference title with most of the players that won it last year.

Don't be disappointed with Ottawa's day today. Remember, this team made its splash in the trade market on Feb. 11, when they acquired Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore from the Hurricanes.

So since last year, Bryan Murray has acquired a trio of players that share five Stanley Cup rings. Experience can go a long way in winning tight playoff-type games.

Now, this means this group of players must  find their way. Must get their act together. Last night's 5-0 loss to the Maple Leafs was nothing short of embarrassing. The good thing is the players get a chance to  not dwell on that. They're right back at it against a team they've had success against. Senators are 3-1  against Boston this year, despite being outscored 9-8.

Martin Gerber will get the call in goal and has played all four previous games against Boston. Tim Thomas gets the call for the B's.

Eight points separate these two teams in the standings, with the Bruins holding two games in hand. This is where things get scary for Ottawa. If the Bruins can make up those four points, the head-to-head matchups remaining could make the Northeast Division very interesting. I'll let you do the math.

Can't tell you the line combinations tonight... we'll find out during the warmup.

For those interested, I'll blog tomorrow on the 20-plus trades made around the league.

Game time tonight is 7:30. This one is on TSN and, of course, heard all along the Team 1200 radio network, with yours truly and Dean Brown with the call.

enjoy the game everyone.

gord

Posted by Gord Wilson on February 25, 2008

Greetings, everyone, from the confines of Studio 1200, ground floor of Scotiabank  Place, and on game day to boot. Senators playing host to the Leafs in Game 6 of the eight-game season-long series. Ottawa  won the first three games between the two clubs but Toronto has taken the last two.

Ottawa, of course, is coming off an impressive come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win over the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Dany Heatley ended a five-game goalless drought by scoring his 29th and 30th of the year. Alfredsson ended a five-gamer as well by scoring his 35th, which happened to be the game-winner.

And Cory Stillman seems to be finding a comfort zone on this team. He scored his 23rd of the year and  second in as many games. He comes into this game with points in four straight contests.

Ray Emery was solid in goal on Saturday after giving up a questionable first goal, but his performance  has earned him a fifth consecutive start tonight. He's 0-1 against the Leafs this year, losing the last game 4-2.

Watch for Martin Gerber to start tomorrow night against the Bruins.

For the second straight game, Dean McAmmond will not play for the Senators. He's still weak from the  flu. 

Line combinations might look like this... 15-19-27, 71-12-11, 20-22-61 and 5-10-16.

For the  Leafs, well they're fresh off a 3-1 win over Atlanta on Saturday. They're led by longtime captain  Mats Sundin,  who has 25 goals and 63 points this year. Vesa Toskala is expected to start in goal... it'll be his 15th straight start. Alexei Ponikorovsky is out with injury, so watch for Robert Earl to play a fourth-line wing spot.

And make note, if you're at the game tonight, no matter what team you're a fan of, make sure you cheer loud and proud for Luke  Richardson, who plays in his 1,400th career game this evening. Unbelievable  when you think about it. Luke was drafted seventh overall by the  Leafs back in 1987. He played his first game in the league as a Leaf in October of '87. Now 1,399  games later, he's back where he grew up playing hockey, playing for the hometown  team. Kinda neat.

All right, this one is on Rogers Sportsnet with Dean and Garry and, of course, heard all along the Team 1200 radio network, with yours truly and Dave Schreiber. Faceoff time is 7:30.

Enjoy the game everyone,

cheers, Gord

Posted by Gord Wilson on February 23, 2008

Greetings, everyone, from high atop the ice surface here at the Mellon Arena. Senators here to play  game three of a four-game regular-season series against the red-hot Penguins, winners of seven of their last 10 games and 9-4-2 in the absence of Sidney Crosby. In fact, since the Nov. 22 game at Scotiabank Place between Ottawa and Pittsburgh, a Penguin 6-5 shootout win, the  Penguins are  tied with New Jersey for most points in the Eastern Conference.

This is a game with huge 'standings' implications for both teams. A loss could send the Senators all the  way down to fourth in the conference, depending on what happens with some of the other teams.

All 15 Eastern Conference teams are in action today.

Senators coach John Paddock has elected to start Ray Emery in goal, his fourth consecutive start. And the  line combinations to at least open up the game look like this...

15-12-11, 20-22-61, 27-19-37, 5-71-16/10.

Hence the headline of "breaking up is hard to do." Spezza without Heatley or Alfredsson. The two Dannys  have each gone five games without a goal. They'll also be on a line with Mike Fisher, who needs to get  going as well. He's gone 10 games without a goal.

Senators need to pay special attention to the NHL's leading scorer in Evgeni Malkin. He's been on fire of late, with 11 goals and 18 assists in the last 14 games. As coach Paddock said, Malkin has been playing second fiddle to Crosby for the last two seasons. Today, he needs to get first fiddle attention.

As mentioned, Emery to start, while Ty Conklin starts for the Penguins. It's his 25th start of the year since getting called up from the minors in December. He's been one of the Penguins' most valuable performers  since his callup. His .932 save percentage is tops in the league. His 2.18 GAA is fifth best.

Enough said... time to play.

Enjoy the game everyone.

Cheers, gord

Posted by Gord Wilson on February 21, 2008

Greetings, everyone, from Scotiabank Place on this game day that features the Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets. It's the first and only meeting of the year between the two teams. Senators come in as the  highest-scoring club in the NHL, while the Blue Jackets are the lowest scoring.

Ottawa ended a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win over the Flyers on Tuesday. Ray Emery stopped 23 shots to earn his 11th win of the year and his third straight start.

Chris Neil returns to the Senators lineup after missing the last game with the flu. He's expected to play with Fisher and Robitaille.

Ottawa's best line over the last two games has been Kelly in between Vermette and Stillman. I had a chance to speak with Cory after Tuesday's game and he indicated there's a pretty decent chemistry  developing amongst the three.

The  Blue Jackets are playing Game 4 of a five-game road trip. They've lost their last two, including a 3-1 defeat to Toronto on Tuesday. Pascal Leclaire is expected to start in goal. He leads the NHL with eight shutouts. And of course offensively, Rick Nash carries the mail for this club. He leads the team in scoring with 31 goals and 51 points.

Senators are 0-for-14 on the power play in their last three games. Dave Jackson and Don Van Massenhoven are this evening's referees.

Game time tonight is 7:30, this one is on A-Channel, with yours truly and Dean Brown, and of course it can be heard on the Team 1200 radio network with Schreibs and Shaun Van Allen.

enjoy the game,

cheers, gord

Posted by Gord Wilson on February 19, 2008

Greetings, everyone, from the underbelly of Scotiabank Place... Game day in the capital, with the Senators hosting Philadelphia. This is Game 3 of a four-game season-long series... a series that so far  belongs to the Flyers. They have earlier wins of 4-3 and 6-1 over Ottawa. Senators are out to put the brakes on a three-game winless streak. They're coming off a 3-2 loss to the Devils on Saturday.

Coach John Paddock will make one lineup change tonight. Brian McGrattan is expected back in the lineup after missing the last four games as a healthy scratch. Chris Neil is a game-time decision. He showed up at the rink today showing signs of the flu and will be a game-time decision.

Ray Emery gets the call in goal tonight. He's 1-2 lifetime against the Flyers. Philly comes to town looking to end a seven-game losing streak. They dropped back-to-back games to the Canadiens over the weekend. Flyers are a beat up team, with no fewer than six regulars out of the lineup because of various injuries. Simon Gagne leads the list of injured players. All that being said, the club has called up forward  Claude Giroux from the Gatineau Olympiques. Claude will make his NHL debut tonight and is expected to play with Daniel Briere and Scott Hartnell.

Martin Biron gets the call in goal... he's 12-9-2 lifetime against the Senators.

Senators lines could shape up to look like this tonight... 15-19-11, 20-22-61, 27-12-10 and 5-37-16

Faceoff time tonight is 7:30. This one can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet with Dean and Garry and, of course, heard all along the Team 1200 radio network with yours truly and Dave Schreiber.

enjoy the game everyone.

cheers, gord

Posted by Gord Wilson on February 16, 2008

Greetings everyone from the confines of Scotiabank Place on a game day that features the Senators and  New Jersey Devils. It's the fourth and final meeting of the regular season between the two clubs, and  their nsecond meeting in the last four days.

These two teams played on Wednesday in Newark, with the Devils scoring a 3-2 overtime win. Martin  Gerber was the biggest reason why the Senators earned a point. He stopped 28 shots, including a few  breakaways. Ottawa's offence came from Randy Robitaille, with his 10th, and Luke Richardson, who  scored his second of the season... and he also picked up an assist. The two points  now give Luke 200 on his career.

Senators coach John Paddock will make a few line changes tonight. The big three will be back together,  with Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson.  Mike Fisher will centre Dean McAmmond and Chris Neil, while Cory Stillman will shift to the right wing and play with Chris Kelly and Antoine Vermette. The fourth line has    Robitaille between Schubert and Donovan.

No changes with the defence pairings, while Ray Emery starts in goal. He's  3-2-0-2 lifetime against the  Devils.

New Jersey comes to town not so fresh off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Thrashers last night.

Martin Brodeur is expected to start his 54th game tonight. He's 29-18-4 lifetime against the Senators.

Senators, by the way, remain in first place in the Eastern Conference. They've held this position since the  4th of October. Today is Day 129 of their reign atop the East.

I want to remind you to check out my Senators All Access feature located on the Sens website following  tonight's game. I'll recap tonight's game and will have a feature interview with a player. We're hoping for either Dany Heatley or Jason Spezza this evening.

All right, that'll do it for now. I don't often make predictions, but watch for the Senators to get off to a quick, good start tonight. They had one of their more spirited, enjoyable practices yesterday. After  sensing this, I asked Daniel Alfredsson and Luke Richardson about refocusing and both said now is the time to do that. Both want to see the team play a more sound team game down the final 24-game stretch.

Face off time tonight is 7 on HNIC with Dean and Garry and of course, this one can be heard all along the Team 1200 radio network with yours truly and Dave Schreiber.

enjoy the game everyone.

cheers, gord

Posted by Gord Wilson on February 13, 2008

Greetings all from rainy, cold, lousy New Jersey, where the Senators have travelled to face the Devils tonight. Game three of a four-game season-long series between the two teams. It's also the first of two between the two over the next four days.

The last time the Senators and Devils played was back on Oct. 27, when the Senators opened the brand  new Prudential Center, and skated away with a 4-1 win. Chris Neil will go down as the answer to the trivia question... who scored the first goal in the Devils' new rink.

Ottawa, of course, looking to bounce back from its disappointing 5-1 loss to the Sabres last night on home ice. This one was flat right from the get-go and coach John Paddock found it hard to find one player, other than Ray Emery, who was any good.

That being said, he's obviously looking for a more energetic, intelligent game tonight against a Devils  team that should be well rested. Devils are coming off a 6-1 win over Carolina, but that was on Saturday.

Martin Gerber gets the call for the Senators tonight; he's 2-0 against the Devils this year. Martin Brodeur  gets the nod for the  Devils. He's one win away from his 12th consecutive 30-win year.

Coach Paddock is contemplating putting Brian McGrattan back in the lineup tonight, but is unsure of who  would come out.

No local television coverage of this one, so that means it's  "theatre of the mind," baby. Yours truly and  Dean Brown with the call of this one, heard  all along the Team 1200 radio network, with faceoff at  7 p.m. For a recap of last night's game and an All Access interview with defenceman Andrej Meszaros, check out this video.

Posted by Gord Wilson on February 12, 2008

Greetings everyone from Scotiabank Place, the building with plenty of buzz in it today. Lots of buzz because of the blockbuster trade pulled off yesterday by  general manager Bryan Murray. Newcomers Cory Stillman and Mike  Commodore arrived in town this morning, met their  teammates, and will be on the ice tonight to face the Buffalo Sabres. Stillman and Commodore bring a wealth of experience to the  Ottawa lineup, including three Stanley Cup rings  between the two of them. Stillman will  wear number 61, while Commodore wears number 44.

Mike was the first to address the media today, and was full of smiles and personality. His familiar mop of red hair seemed to be growing as we spoke. I bring it up, because that hair took on a life of its own during his two runs to the Cup, with Calgary and then Carolina. For the record, Mike's last  haircut was  Sept. 10... and he doesn't plan on getting it cut again, until the end of the season. And he obviously  hopes that won't take place until mid-June.

Commodore is expected to play with Wade Redden tonight, while Stillman is expected to play on a line with Mike Fisher and Chris Neil.

As mentioned, the Senators are looking to extend their winning streak to three games. They're coming off a thrilling 6-1 win over Montreal on Saturday. How about the performance of Ottawa's big three... a  career-high six points for Jason Spezza, including his first career hat trick. Two goals and three helpers for Daniel Alfredsson, in his return after missing four games with a hip injury. And Dany Heatley, with a goal and three assists. Heatley now has seven points in his last two games, after missing 11 with a shoulder injury.

Ray Emery was solid in goal and has earned his third straight start. He's 1-1 this season against Buffalo.

Sabres come to town sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference, but just one point out of the playoffs.  They've also gone eight games without a loss in regulation. Ryan Miller is expected to get the call in goal. He's 5-9 lifetime against the Senators... 1-2 this year.

Game time tonight is 7:30.. this one can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet with Dean and Garry and, of course, heard all along the Team 1200 radio network with yours truly and Dave Schreiber.

And  fyi...we're going to be adding a few extra things to this blog from time to time... behind the scenes pictures that I'll be taking with my Samsung  camera phone, and I'll occasionally be posting the Senators  All Access feature I do after each Senators home game. It's a feature presented by Bell. If you're not  familiar with it, here's a little sample.