The Ottawa Senators will get an early Christmas present tomorrow night when Pascal Leclaire returns to the Senators line up after a 16 game absence.
With Mike Brodeur and Josh Hennessy being returned to Binghamton today, it looks as though Leclaire and Chris Neil will return as scheduled tomorrow night.
Leclaire practiced with the team yesterday and today and if everything goes according to plan, the Sens will have their number one stopper in net when they visit the defending champs in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
If that's not enough, the Senators are also hoping to have tough guy Chris Neil back in the line up for tomorrow night. There have been times during his absence that you could really see the Senators missed a guy like Neil.
Aside from Winchester and Fisher there really isn't much of a physical presence up front so the return of Neil and Shean Donovan in another week or so should really give the Senators a boost.
Nick Foligno is probably about another week away.
The game tomorrow against the Penguins is the Senators last before the holiday break.
Olympic Hockey Talk- GOLD RUSH
55 comments:
what do you mean Winchester a physical presence? bah, i hope that's a joke!
I mean he finishes his checks on a regular basis and is a physical hockey player.
in my opinion winchester's been the biggest dissapointment on the team espeically considering how much they pimped him the year he was supposed to play with heats and j spez. 5 goals and 20 assists in 97 games is hardly anything to write home about. he's a good young player but seriously he's never going to be a top line forward. he just doesn't make enough of a difference.
yea winchester has really picked up the physical game. he is strong in the corners too. and doesn't shy from the physicality either. its quite a change because when they first got him last year, they wanted to play him with spezza and heatley.
these guys need to get on a win streak. a 3 to 5 game win streak would go a long long way towards solidifying a playoff spot. hopefully leclaire has no kinks, he's been practicing with luke richardson too.
I agree Chirp - loving Winchester's play lately. What do people expect? Regin is another on who's finishing checks on a regular basis -just needs to put the puck in the net more...I'm really looking forward to 2010 for the Sens with a full lineup operating on all cylinders by playoff time!
Go Sens Go!
Have you watched Winchester play? The guy can lay some big hits. He completely annihilated someone last night, can't remember who though. He definitely plays gritty and goes in the tough areas.
Winnie is great on the boards...but his shot is very weak. We need top 6 forward prospects...hopefully murray can get that with the upcoming draft. Gotta admit though. We are doing much better than I thought we would this year.
Winchester, Karlsson and Regin are all progressing nicely. They get better month to month.
Winchester was never touted as a top line player.
He reminds me alot of Peter Scheaffer when he was here, although a bit more grittier and maybe alittle less offensive skill, but still finishes his checks and is great around the boards.
I think he will replace Kelly eventually.
Anon 11:58 - It was Paille with a late hit at the end of the second period. Huge hit but IMO a second or two too late. I'm surprised he didn't get called on that because Paille was no where near the puck.
I am getting fed up with this team I think that is beacuse of the long summer with that Heatley deal that kept me tuning into TV or Radio and bloggs to find out the lastest new, I will check back in to see if they made the play offs this year, but thats all for me folks....
Thanks! PS, I am not Anon.
Winchester also had a sick pass to Alife, which easily could have been a goal. That would have been game changing too!
I see him progressing nicely. He has really stepped up his physical game this year and if he can make more passes like last night, then look out!
SNOOPY RETURNS TOMORROW !
A Charlie Brown Christmas indeed.
Some great news for our boys. Let's hope Leclaire comes back strong.
Thank heaven Leclaire is back! I'm sure that Elliott's a fine young man, but there is a reason he was picked second last in the draft. IMO he lacks the agility, concentration and talent to be an NHL goalie.
ANON 12:11
It`s fans like you that this city does not need. Rest assured this team WILL make the playoffs and I seriously think we can do some damage. Yes our D is weak, but when this team is healthy I think they can beat anybody. Perhaps a deadline deal to strenghten our defence could put this team over the top.
Call me crazy, irrational, stupid but I will never stop cheering for this team. Sick and tired of the fairweather fans who jump ship each season. We were spoiled with the amount of success the team had within the past decade. We have some great young players who are only going to get better (Foligno, Karlsson, Cowen, Winchester, etc)
Sometimes I wonder how you can handle it Senschirp. The amount of nonsense that gets posted after a loss has got to be getting on your nerves. Thanks for being a TRUE sens fan that understands the season is a marathon not a sprint.
#9 Milan
to anon 12:07
http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/hockey/fhl/story?page=notebook080919
http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=798063
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/17927-Rookie-Jesse-Winchester-given-chance-to-shine-on-Sens-top-line.html
Yeah he was!
he's a good solid player but definitely not a top-6 forward and I'm not sure he has it in him to be a top-6 guy.
petersson and silferberg are both good prospects and may turn into top 6 forwards, watching the canadian junior exhibition against sweden silferberg was the only noticeable swede, plus he scored.
Chirp I know this isn't the topic at hand, but do you know why Petersson was no-where to be found during the Can vs Swed game this past Sunday? Some say he's injured, some say he was benched but haven't really heard a solid answer.
Also for those who are interested, Canada vs Finland tonight on TSN, hopefully Cowan gets more icetime than last game and the TO media stops drooling over Kadri so much...uhhh
I think he will replace Kelly eventually.
Yep, Winchester will be our depth 3rd line centre and pk guy
and he is doing great on the road to it
#9 Milan,
Don't waste your time with 12:11.
Obviously not really a hockey fan. Probably not even CDN.
Cities like Winnipeg, Hamilton and Quebec City would kill to have what we have.
We are very lucky, and I love following the progress of this team.
Personally I think many of the veterans like Alfie, Kovalev, Phillips etc don't really raise their game till later in the season.
Come Jan/Feb...it will get even better.
Watching Phillips now vs the first round of the playoffs, you hardly even recognize him. And that effort takes energy and lots of it.
Can't do that every night.
KB
Hopefully the Sens can beat Pitts and get a win before the break. That would be dope.
GO SENS GO!
HEY CHIRP,
Have you heard who Neil will play with tomorrow. I'm sure he wont be playing fourth line minute with Shanon and Campoli. Do you think they might slide him on the second line, because right now the 3 line is untouchable its our best line night after night.
what your thought??
Seriously? Karlsson improving month to month?!?!
I dont see it, I watch everygame on TV and have been to 4 games so far and I seriously dont see it.
He is not playing great hockey like most seem to think he is. eah sure he sometimes makes a nice pass and poke checks the puck off a guy but isnt that what he's supposed to do game in game out?
To me he is very inconsistent, shy's away from contact and is 1 second behind everyone in terms of positioning. Just 1 example, the Boston game, since its fresh in my mind, the 1st goal, rebound from Elliot right on Bergeron's stick, I understand there shouldnt have been a rebound or atleast control it into the corner or something but Karlsson was stuck watching the play instead of taking his man, which was Bergeron. Had he not even watched the shot and go directly to Bergeron, this would not have been a goal. He is just not rdy for the NHL.....yet.
SM
@anon 2:15p.m
thats a good issue. where will they drop him. see henessey is a centreman so it was an easy choice to put a line together around him.
My bet is that Regin will come off the second line. so it should look like:
alfie-winny-milan
Neil-fisher-kovy
Shannon-Regin-Campoli
Ruutu-Kelly-Cheechoo
or
aflie-win-milan
neil-fisher-kovalev
shannon-regin-campoli
ruutu-kelly-cheech
i dont know. its going to be weird line chemistries for sure. i dont know how impressed clouston is with the third line. but if he is as impressed as the fans are, then he might have to put neil up on the second. in any case, regin is the only other centreman he has got not playing centre, so the second line is getting broken up for sure.
i think that rotating spot on the second line kinda shows the need for a top six forward. however, once spezz returns, it will be another mish mash in the waiting lol:
alfie-spezz-milan
foligno-fisher-kov
neil-regin-cheechoo--???
ruutu-kelly-dono---???
I can see Winchester developing into a Ryan Kesler type, which is A-okay with me!
Just to address stuff, we aren't 'lucky' to have a team. The original group paid the entrance fee to become an NHL franchise, no 'luck' there. Bryden kept things going then searched out a new owner and found that in Melnyk. Again, no 'luck'.
The team is stable for the foreseeable future, we won't get far in the playoffs but write that off to Leclaire never having been in a playoff game...
Speaking of Leclaire, why not sit him tomorrow, let him get an extra few days of rest and play him against a soft opponent. Let Elliott start against Pittsburgh, he has more than earned it.
Leclaire needs to prove himself here...if he's going to allow one or two soft goals a game, we can get that cheaper with Elliott...
anon@3:30
they could sit leclaire, but its not like leclaire has been off the ice for the past couple of weeks. he has infact been taking shots and has been in the last two-three practices with the team. so he should be satisfyingly sharp and motivated. he just has to be good and mistake free the first period tomorrow and im sure the guy is good enough to take it head on from the 2nd period on. after all he has missed a fair bit and is going to be plenty motivated to consolidate his starter job.
i just think that even though last nights loss should not be shouldered on elliot, mike brodeur should have been given the start. elliot needs time off the ice and on the bench to refocus again plus i think he was just getting pushed to the limits after playing 14 straight games and then a 15th game after only one game off.
"Speaking of Leclaire, why not sit him tomorrow, let him get an extra few days of rest and play him against a soft opponent. Let Elliott start against Pittsburgh, he has more than earned it."
How is a 6-8 record called earned?!?!
Start Leclaire for crissakes, we need wins not losses!!
Elliot does not project that good feeling vibe, no energy, when Brodeur started, you could tell the guy was pumped, the players were pumped, it got them riled up!
With Elliot its like blah, here we go, another game we have to Play. Should have started Brodeur last night and Leclaire vs the Pens, who are playing their worst hockey of the season!!
SM
anon @ 2:41pm
your lines are the exact same even though you put an "or" and tried to put a different combination together.
"alfie-winny-milan
Neil-fisher-kovy
Shannon-Regin-Campoli
Ruutu-Kelly-Cheechoo
or
aflie-win-milan
neil-fisher-kovalev
shannon-regin-campoli
ruutu-kelly-cheech"
See what i mean.
I am not sad to see Hennessy go back to Bingo, but am sad to see Brodeur.
Although Brodeur did only play the 1 game, his focus, rebound control (which is what lost the game to Boston) seems far better then Elliott. I am not sure why we are sticking to him in nets.
Play Brodeur tomorrow night, sit Leclaire to rest him a bit more - we will need him to be at his best down the stretch.
Last word - I read some 'anonymous' person stating that Winchester isn't a great player. I am not sure what games he/she has been watching, but whenever I watch he plays with heart, finishes checks, doesn't back down. He brings character to the team. His production will come soon enough!
to anonymous 220
Watch the Bergeron goal again. The shot that led to a rebound for Bergeron was not a hard shot and Elliott misplayed it giving a juicy rebound straight on Bergeron's stick. Karlson did not have a chance.
The lines when Neil is back is a no briainer....(haven't you people been watching all year?) Neil takes cheechoo spots, cheechoo is bumped to the fourth line and Shannon moves to center.
Michalek-Winchester-Alredson
Regin-Fisher-kovalev
Ruutu-Kelly-Neil
Campoli-Shannon-Cheechoo
"@ ron.navan said...
to anonymous 220
Watch the Bergeron goal again. The shot that led to a rebound for Bergeron was not a hard shot and Elliott misplayed it giving a juicy rebound straight on Bergeron's stick. Karlson did not have a chance."
Of course it was misplayed, thats till doesnt make up for Karlsson being in bad position, you dont just stand in front of the net waiting for the puck to come to you. The first indication your not doing something right as a D is if your standing in front of the net alone!
His job was to take Bergeron who was coming hard to the net, he didnt check him, thus resulting in a goal.
SM
@ MJ
haha yea. i think i did end up writing the same lines. it happens when you are at work and trying to do more important things with...lesser important things.
my bad lol
I agree with anon 409PM,
These line combos are what we had prior to Neil's injury,excl Campoli, and they of course worked out very well !!
Clouston will decide the various combinations, but I feel he will go with this one !!
Robert Cyr
Winnie=Money
Word to the wise ANON 11:38, never chirp, THE chirp.
Let's get a BIG win tomo night boys!!
Go Sens Go!!!
Cheers,
Jonben
Not sure why fans keep wanting Elliot to start, he has done very little to earn a place on the roster. I was impressed with Mike Brodeur in nets and his 4-1 win should have earned him another game. Elliot is looking more and more like Lalime (letting in far too many soft goals), which we need to get as far away from as possible. If leclaire is ready lets rock leclair and let Elliot watch. I'm not gonna rip on Elliot too much because he did make some key saves however I just think he did very little to communicate confidence to all the players in front of him and when you give up early bad goals well that just kills any momentum we had going into the game and makes us play from behind. Big time sens fan here, ANON @ 12:11 your a joke and were not gonna miss fans like yourself. Come playoff time go find another team to jump on.
Hey Chirp, word is B-Murr put a call into the NHL Officiating head office about the crappy officiating and 3 games with no calls at all against our opponent, any news on that front?
gotta lol at the puck moving D man that was worth a first round pick on the 4th line
No one has pointed this out yet but a story on tsn aboout the sens slashing some ticket prices for 9 games or so.
Are people on here actually criticizing Winchester for not being a top line player? We then I guess that means Donovan is useless too and so if Carkner. These are our depth guys people! Donovan, 500k, Winchester 500k, Carkner 500k. Winchester of just like the other two, a depth guy that plays a needed role and plays it well. He's extremely useful! Fans in this city loveeeeee to dump on players for no reason it seems...
Alfie-Fisher-kovalev
Michalek -Regin-Cheechoo
Ruutu-Kelly-Neil
Campoli-Winchester-Shannon
I never do this I just thought id like to see this .....
If anyone is watching Sweeden play in the Juniors.. look for a guy names Jakob Silfverberg... he was drafted in the second round last year
Cheechoo - Fisher - Kovalev
Michalek - Regin - Alfredsson
You need to put Cheechoo with someone who will get him the puck, get his confidence back and get him back to scoring goals - Kovalev can be that catalyst.
agree with NGW. stupid for fans to jump all over him when he is making 500k. Players like him on those kind of salaries is what makes good teams great. Good depth for low price is key, and that's what Winchester brings to the table.
Someone had mentioned above about hopefully we see Ottawa draft some top 6 forwards this summer, and I don't think you could expect anything else. With Leclaire being young for a goalie, and Lehner coming up in the system, and 4 solid propects on D, 2 of which are bluechip, Ottawa's back end is set up for success in the future (thanks Brian) and now being the fantastic drafter that he is will go after those top 6 forwards. D always take time to develop compared to D so giving a jump start drafting the D a year or two ahead works out perfectly. Hoping with Ottawa's hopeful mid round draft pick (in hoping they'll make the playoffs) they will pick up someone like Martindale (Ottawa product) Watson or Yogan. But BM will know what to do come draft time.
@SM
If you look at the play, Karlsson misses the puck on his attempted clear because it wobbled off the rebound.
If he hits Bergeron before he gets the rebound it's a penalty, what would you have him do?
Karlsson was not to blame on the play, if you were going to blame anyone it should be Kuba (for not clearing it off the glass) or Hennesey for giving the puck away (and for being traded for Havlat).
Hey there Pistol Pete,
Love your 2 line combos ,especially the first one
Cheechoo - Fisher - Kovalev
Would love to see Clouston try it for 3-4 games, but I do not think he has even considered it !!
No doubt in my mind that our first 2 lines will always remain as is, and that Winchester will go back to 4th line as soon as Spezza is back !!
Robert Cyr
Hey Everyone,
December was a bitter sweet month for us. Going into the month a lot of people thought that we were dead in the water, but we pulled through and are still in the playoff mix. In fact we are in better shape than last year. Let's look forward to the rest of the month with some great efforts on the ice and close it with wins tonight against Pitts, win against Buffalo, win against Montreal and again with Colorado and NY...
Let's end the year killing our opponents...
Riaz
haha good point Benjamin, damn hennessy..@ MJ, you can CLEARLY see his line combos are different, in the second we have a new top line center, Mr. Win. He has mad winning skills. Winnie would be sitting for him to come in and win games singlehandedly.
On another note, did anyone really expect any different from the poll results over there? Big Z in a landslide! >>>>
@ benjamin
Im not saying deck the guy but atleast be aware that Bergeron was coming, get in the lane, stick check his stick, or even beter, blcok the shot! Swipping at the puck like a kid in Peewee aint gonna cut it in the NHL.
SM
Maybe the biggest problem with the sens is that the brass seem to think that a guy like winny is capable of being a top line centre. Seems like a really, really bad joke that they seem to be running with this. It'll be pretty funny to see our #1 centre going up and having his ass handed to him all game by their #1, #2, #3 centres. This is not winny`s fault, but should not be happening.
Thank god neil is back. He was sorely missed. Nevertheless, Pens 4 Sens 1.
I think Murray should trade Winchester and our 1st rounder for Andrew Ladd. That would solve ALL our problems.
Anon 10:55
Congrats you win the dumbass of the day award.
To Anon at 11:09,
The day is young. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet...
10:51 am, what you think Murray is HAPPY about winchester on the top line? He's what we got, they would love to have someone to step up but it's not going to happen. What do you expect? "Uh Oh, Spezza is injured! Thank god I keep a bag of #1 centers out in my trunk for just such an occasion!"....and trust me, if it's minutes you'er worried about, it won't be that line getting the most, it'll be fisher's, followed closely by the checking line.
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