Brady Tkachuk Is Out Of Control... And We Like It

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a smile on Pierre Dorion’s face that didn’t look forced.

Yet the morning before his 2-2-1 Ottawa Senators faced the Dallas Stars, the GM was making the local media rounds on television and radio with a detectable skip in his step. On camera with CTV’s Henry Burris, Dorion was the picture of relief, spinning hope that just a month ago seemed all but impossible.

And who could blame him?

Even the most moderate of pundits predicted total agony for this franchise, and the fact that this young-ish Senators team wasn’t 0-5 seemed like a Hail Mary that actually came through and landed into Dorion’s outstretched hands. Although everyone is happy to remind us all that it’s too early to be gloating about anything, letting Dorion enjoy this small moment in time seems more than reasonable.

I don’t see any “gloating”. I see a sort of collective “Oh”, the kind of muted response that seems appropriate for the occasion. Nobody is saying this team is going to swagger across the finish line into the playoffs, but it doesn’t look like they’re going to drive off a cliff either.

That same night, the Sens went out and smothered the explosive offense of the Stars with a 4-1 victory in front of a small hometown crowd of about 12,500. Two of the kids, Brady Tkachuk and Max Lajoie were instrumental in the win. After the game, goalie Craig Anderson told reporters that Tkachuk and Lajoie were “the heartbeat of this team, not only on the ice, but in the room”.

Now think about that quote for a second. This is Anderson, a fairly quiet but honest veteran player, telling reporters that a 19 and 20 year old pair of rookies are the “heartbeat” of the team. I’ve never heard any player say that, at least not that I can recall.

Dorion didn’t do any post-game pressers of course, but I’m willing to bet a few dollars he tipped back a drink of his choice and had a hell of a peaceful sleep out in lovely Orleans.

After all, Dorion and Eugene Melnyk made the ultimate gamble with their fan base by trading away Erik Karlsson. And unsurprisingly, they’re losing on that front in the short-term, with attendance low and the season ticket base rumoured to be at rock bottom levels.

Yet, despite all of this negative public and media sentiment, there is more than a trickle of positivity coming back to this team. You see it in little ways. Twitter, which is ultimately the barometer for the most extreme fans, has recently been dotted with lines like “I hate that this team is making me want to like them again”.

And that really sums it up, doesn’t it?

Watching Tkachuk barrel around the ice like an out of control fire truck isn’t exactly grace-in-motion, but it’s undeniably entertaining. Last weekend, with the Senators up 5-1 on the Kings late in the 3rd period, Tkachuk was battling in front of the Kings net like his very life depended upon it. You’d laugh if it wasn’t so impressive. It’s rare that a player can skate by him without getting a quick, almost invisible slash on the arms, and when he gets back to the bench he’s always laughing or yelling about something.

Meme’s have quickly spread of Tkachuk in all sorts of strange comedic situations, like his now infamous cringe reaction to Lajoie on television or getting his helmet screwed tight on the bench like he’s in a Three Stooges skit. His baby face just seems to accentuate all this, yet it’s a bit deceiving.

He doesn’t look at all like a 19 year old rookie when he’s rambling around ice like he’s trapped in a cage. He’s scored 3 goals in 4 games which leads all Sens forwards in that category. He’s 2nd on the team in shots behind Lajoie, 3rd in power-play points, and he’s done all this after missing the first two games of the season.

Every time he scrambles over the boards, you can feel the fans pay attention in the rink. Everybody watches this guy because it’s impossible not to. Wherever he is, helmets fly off, people lose their sticks, nets come off their moorings and plexiglass sways dangerously.

In a way, he’s the anti-Karlsson. The former Senator was all sleek skill and silent speed. Tkachuk is all arms and legs and chewed-up mouthguards.

But the fans are starting to eat it up.

Even my own 8 year old son, who, horrifyingly, has shown absolutely zero interest in his father’s favourite pastime, saw a clip of Tkachuk on TV and said “Who’s that guy? He’s kinda funny and crazy.” Before this, the only interest he’s had in hockey was singing word for word Brian5or6’s “Hotsam Batcho” song… again to my horror.

Suddenly this team has a few budding stars to market and it doesn’t seem like a total reach. It helps that Thomas Chabot and Tkachuk are both comfortable in front of a camera. Chabot probably had to learn it on the fly in a second language while Tkachuk just inherited it naturally from his NHL family.

There’s still more than a few long and short-term worries however.

Logan Brown’s apparent unreadiness for the NHL this year surprised me. He’s fallen out of favour a little with prospect watchers but I easily envisioned the big centremen stepping in right away right behind Matt Duchene. Turns out he’s in the AHL, sidelined by an injury while Filip Chlapik, Rudolfs Balcers and Drake Batherson are all making their case to be the next call-up. Brown feels like a century away right now but that can all change pretty quickly.

Cody Ceci continues to struggle, both on the ice and with the fans. Two wins in a row with Ceci sitting out injured isn’t going to put this to rest anytime soon. Thankfully Chris Tierney and Dylan DeMelo, both acquired in the Karlsson deal, have been revelations in their roles, making the disappointments of Brown and Ceci seem less vital.

And yes, you can always rely on worrying about contracts for Duchene, Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel.

But maybe it’s okay for Sens fans to just enjoy the temporary hope while they can. Maybe, if things keep going the right way, it can be more than just temporary.

Remember the defiant quotes before the season started from Duchene and Mark Borowiecki? They were polite about it, but you could tell they wanted to stuff this season down everybody’s throats if they got the chance. There were clues sitting here in front of us that this team was going to fight like hell.

It was there when coach Guy Boucher seemed to snarl his displeasure at seeing veteran Zack Smith waived. Nobody was thrown under the bus but it was easy to detect an “us vs them” mentality forming. It had been too long a summer of the coach (who quietly does not have a contract extension) and the players just hanging out there on the clothesline being pecked at by everybody.

They had no control until they could actually step on the ice and finally do something about it. Now we might just have a team worth watching here, forged by the need to prove us all wrong.

How far they're willing to go to prove that point will be the entertaining part. Just don't take your eyes off that "crazy" Tkachuk kid. You might miss a garage sale.

Erik Cole: Spezza Needs You. If Not, Can You Ask Ray?

Suddenly Black Aces has turned into a rumours blog that’s putting Eklund to shame, but at this time of year, even I get sucked in.

So here’s an unsolicited one of my own.

GM Bryan Murray should look closely at bringing Erik Cole in from Dallas to play with Jason Spezza.

The reasons? In the Matt Moulson article below I talked at length about Spezza needing a winger. Everybody’s talking about that. Even Brian 5or6’s Granny is talking about that. So as a fan, you go through the usual suspects like Moulson, Thomas Vanek and Ales Hemsky, but chances are, if something does get done, it will be a name that catches everyone by surprise. Like Oleg “Freakin” Saprykin.

Let me throw Erik Cole into the mill. Remember him? The guy who used to victimize Ottawa with speed and goal-scoring in his prime years?

I’ve always liked Cole over the years, but lately he’s been out of sight, out of mind. Playing over in Dallas, I don’t get to see him much anymore and his stats aren’t exactly forcing us early-to-bed Easterner’s to take much notice.

Then his named popped up in Elliotte Friedman’s 30 Thoughts article today – not in connection to Ottawa – but as a player who may be unhappy in Texas. As Friedman noted, Cole’s agent strongly denied that rumour and there was no more elaboration on the subject.

Chances are it really is case closed. Cole has a no-trade clause according to Cap Geek, and with one year left on his deal at $4.5 million (but just $4 million in actual salary), he’s not exactly a deadline rental.

Yet Dallas is a long-shot to make the playoffs in the brutal Western Conference. GM Jim Nill is in his first year at the helm and has barely started to rebuild the team that suffered some tough years under Joe Nieuwendyk. A guy like Erik Cole is not in the long-term plans and a Stanley Cup is not in the short-term plans. Cole has been around a long time and I’m sure he can see what’s happening.

From a purely hockey standpoint, it would tough to see him objecting to a trade. Family and lifestyle issues may stand in the way, but if you dangled the prospect of playing with Jason Spezza in front of Cole, wouldn’t he be at least a little interested in paying more taxes?

Many of you will scoff and say Cole is injury-prone, old (he’s 35) and not even close to the same player he was when he won a Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006. He can’t be worth a $4.5 million cap hit. But how much would he be worth if he was riding shotgun with Spezza? How do you calculate that?

Cole scored 35 goals just two seasons ago with Montreal. He has 14 this season on a fairly bad Dallas team and he’s reached the 20 goal plateau 5 times since 2006.

He’s also left-handed shot, which is what Dany Heatley was (as is Moulson, another reason I thought he could work with Spezza - I'm obsessed with this apparently), and Cole is big (6’2, 212 lbs.) and fast. Coach Paul MacLean could have Spezza flanked by both Cole and Colin Greening, which would be a hulking but skilled line.

Of course, in this imaginary world, the Senators would be on the hook for Cole’s contract next year, but it would essentially replace Milan Michalek’s cap number, who will be leaving this summer as a UFA.

Both players have been injury prone (Cole once broke his back) but have played almost a full slate of games so far this season. If anything, swapping Cole’s deal for Michalek’s next year would work. It feels like the exact same argument I made for Moulson, although at least the Senators know Cole’s cap hit for next season. Moulson’s would have to be negotiated, and could top $5 million. I also get the feeling someone could get Cole for less than what Moulson would fetch. I don’t know that for sure, but it seems logical with what we've been hearing so far.

Cole may not be a perfect fit with Spezza, as he plays the game more like Michalek than he does Heatley, but unless the Senators want to ante up for his Stars teammate Ray Whitney or any other high profile winger, Cole might be a guy who has so far escaped much trade market scrutiny and could interest Murray.

Nill will be looking for younger players and the Senators have a lot of those. Probably too many at this point, particularly on defense and at centre where the Stars aren’t exactly stocked.

Could it work? I’m no Kreskin but it seems to me that letting Spezza waste away without a true scoring winger for the rest of the season is far riskier than what a winger like Cole could possibly bring.

Will it happen? Something will, but a blog about it won’t make anything happen sooner than it should. If it’s Cole, I’ll be stunned, but if it’s no one, I’ll be even more surprised.

Schaefer and Spezza Still Lay Claim To Sickest Goals In Senators History

Clarke MacArthur's ridiculous between the legs pass to set up Kyle Turris for a goal last night against Minnesota (above) had me trying to remember some of the nicest goals in Senators history. There can't any better than these two right? If you can think of one, let me know in the comments. I'm stumped.

Peter Schaefer against Dallas



Jason Spezza against Montreal



***

Honorable Mention:

Jason Spezza against Vancouver



***

Here's one suggested by a reader in the comments section and luckily I found a better looking video of it. Forgot all about this one but I remember watching it. Pretty ridiculous move.

Antoine Vermette against Tampa Bay



***

Yet another beauty play by Spezza that was finished off by Kyle Turris, as suggested by a reader:

Jason Spezza/Kyle Turris against Winnipeg

Best Bets and Homerun Chances For Sens On Deadline Day

The trade deadline approaches. You know Ottawa is going to do something, even if it’s just a 7th defenseman going back and forth. Here’s a few guesses (and one or two Hail Mary's) at who might land in town:

Ryan O’Byrne (D) – Colorado: Bryan Murray must have had a huge scare when both Marc Methot and Sergei Gonchar got temporarily banged up. This team is a near-lock for the post-season and Murray can’t rely on Erik Karlsson or Jared Cowen magically getting healthier for April. He has to make a move for a rental just to have some bodies for when the games get really painful. He won’t lock himself into a defenseman with multiple years unless he’s young. Big and somewhat mobile O’Byrne (6’5”, 234 pounds) is a UFA this summer and has 19 games of NHL playoff experience with Montreal, and was part of the Hamilton Bulldogs AHL championship team in 2007 where he played 22 games during their Calder run. He’s had a tough year in Colorado, even being made a healthy scratch recently, but he’s a perfect fit for Ottawa. He still plays about 20 minutes a game for the drowning Avs.

Jordan Leopold (D) – Buffalo: It’s pretty easy to just stroll down a list of UFA’s this summer and pick obvious candidates for Ottawa, but Leopold would provide a smooth skating d-man in one of their pairings, probably replacing the need to play both Mike Lundin or Andre Benoit. Leopold has 59 playoff games on his resume. He’d help Ottawa and would be a nice fit on the second power-play unit. Too bad he’s a left shot though. Buffalo won’t be eager to give Ottawa anything helpful.

Robyn Regehr (D) – Buffalo: More of a longshot because, like Leopold, Buffalo will want something decent in return and won’t take less from Ottawa, a divisional rival. He’s the kind of established player you’d want in a playoff run but I don’t see Ottawa swinging hard for him. He’s got a no-trade but you’d think he’d jump at an opportunity to play a few extra weeks somewhere. Complications aside, he’d look at home in a Sens uniform as a rental.

David Rundblad (D) – Phoenix: Don’t laugh. It could happen. My pal came out with this the other day and the idea stunned me for a moment. The Coyotes don’t have a goalie for next season with Mike Smith a pending UFA. Ottawa has 3 good/great ones in stock. I don’t have to tell you the talent Rundblad has. This would be a mind-blower but it almost makes a bit of sense because the Coyotes already have both Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Keith Yandle locked up long term. That being said, I have my doubts Ottawa will move a goalie before July.

Ales Hemsky (RW) – Edmonton: This would be Bryan Murray’s homerun shot provided he doesn’t steal someone like Martin St. Louis from good buddy Steve Yzerman. Hemsky has one year left at a modest $5 million and would be that guy who replaces Guillaume Latendresse in the top 6. It’s a big longshot but Edmonton would be chasing a goalie if they were sane. A healthy line of Spezza, Michalek and Hemsky is a tempting thought. You could say the emergence of Jakob Silfverberg shores up that right wing spot nicely but how many years does Alfie have left? Hemsky would be a needed injection of pure skill into your top line. And you just might be able to get him for less than you think.

Jaromir Jagr (RW) – Dallas: Could you imagine Jagr in the red and black? I can’t, but Murray brought in Alex Kovalev so there’s a precedent here. One of the best hockey players of all-time as a deadline rental? You could do worse.

Zack Smith Archaeology

Dallas 3 Senators 2

Oh Nellie.

Out of sheer compassion for my readers, I won't bother to recap the Sens-Stars tilt tonight. Chances are you watched it. It was bad enough that the first two periods were unwatchable, even for Roger Neilson and Bobby Fischer acolytes, but when the third opened up, the Senators blew a late lead and left Dallas with zero points. Let's call it a filler game. You're gonna get a handful of these just to pad out the schedule, just like AC/DC would pad out albums with songs like "Mistress For Christmas" or "Got You By The Balls".

So instead....

Zack Smith has got me intrigued. Even being a fan of tough hockey players, I was somewhat sceptical about Smith until this season started but let's just say I've recently been converted. And in converted, I mean Bob Dylan in 1979 deciding that Like A Rolling Stone was meaningless and he was only going to write songs about Jesus. That kind of converted.

And it made me want to dig back a little and try to see what I missed when Smith was slugging it out in Swift Current and Binghamton.

And then I stumbled upon this video of a fight from Febuary 14, 2010 between Smith and Kenndal McArdle, then of the Rochester Americans and now a fellow NHL'er with the Winnipeg Jets. I don't think I could find a more perfect capture of what Zack Smith is all about. And I'm not trying to just glamorize a fight here. This goes beyond the actual fight.

Watch Smith get absolutely rocked by McArdle, collapse to the ice like anyone would, but then get right back up and just power a beating on McArdle to totally turn the tables and win the fight. No way he should have gotten up after that punch, but he did. That has nothing to do with how strong he is. That's pure character, competitiveness, "balls", whatever you want to call it. That was plain will.

I remember guys like Tim Murray just raving about this Zack Smith kid and looking at this video, I can understand why.



Tweet

Five Worst Current NHL Uni's

Actually, things aren't that bad.

NHL fans had to live through some truly ugly uniforms throughout the 90's and 00's but with the Heritage craze thankfully taking over, we are seeing less black, less navy blue and more of the bright primary colours that were popular before Gretzky went to LA and wore the new black and silver Kings theme that went on to sell a million jerseys and taking hockey fashion to boring depths never breached before.

That era is coming to an end but there are still some sweaters that would best go the way of the the Islanders Captain Highlander experiment.

I'm sure people will vehemently disagree with some of my choices, so let me have it if you feel that way.

Okay, here we go. Five worst uniforms in the NHL today:

1. Anaheim Ducks 3rd jersey

The Ducks regular uni's are merely boring, drab and uninspired. These are straight up brutal. Where do we start? First off, I like orange on uniforms if done the right way (Philly obviously). Bright colours look good on TV and nothing pops better in HD than orange. But this uni is a bit of a Frankenstein. Look at the socks. Looks like a failed home economics project where the clearly failing student randomly sewed together two different socks from two different teams. Why not just go with an orange stripe instead of going half and half?

Then there's the already dated vertical slashes under the arms, the horrid piping along the shoulders and the meaningless, utterly forgettable logo on the front. Why not just go back to the duck mask? At least that had character.

2. Dallas Stars home and away

What's the point here? They're barely even trying. There was a spate of uni's after the lockout that were so plain they looked like pajamas (the worst being the Oilers white sweaters which they have mercifully discontinued). These plain Stars uni's are almost impossible to discern on TV. The Stars have a decent logo but it's hanging out on the shoulder where no one can see it and their best colour - green - is now pretty much a complimentary shade.

You can't even make out any green on these black home duds. It's bad enough there's no stripe along the waist, but plain black pants? Who designed this crap? The Undertaker?

3. Colorado Avalanche home and away

The Avalanche actually have a good color scheme, which is distinctive in a league full of black, red, blue and more black. But you couldn't really come up with a worse design than this. I look at the shoulders and it reminds me of a bad spacesuit. How many sections is this jersey made of? The piping down the front makes this look like a barbecue apron. It's got that ugly neckline that makes the players look like they're wearing a pendant around their necks. There's not an inch of tradition here and that makes these look cheap and dated.

The home darks are only marginally better. That being said, their 3rd jerseys are among the best in the league. How do they not go with these full-time?

4. Edmonton Oilers 3rd jersey (former home jersey)

Again with the pajamas. Or practice jerseys. Whatever you want to call them. One of the best logos in the league on the one of the worst uniforms of the past decade. Half-stripes on the underside of the elbow, the dreaded apron piping, no stripes on the waist, zero colour. A sad time for the Oilers. Thankfully they have reverted back to their Gretzky-era uni's but for some reason they've kept this disaster as a 3rd. Their now extinct white counterparts were even more boring. Against the ice, it was like watching invisible men.

5. Los Angeles Kings 3rd jersey

The Kings uniforms have been a mess since 98-99 when they dropped their Gretzky-era black and silver (which I was never a huge fan of either) and adopted various versions of black and purple with the city's name spelled out on the waist. This dud has survived the war of attrition and will be worn a few times this year. The Kings have never been able to get their look dialed down and watching the Kings for the past decade has been depressing if you're a jersey hound. Looks like that is going to continue in a rather dumbed down black and silver uniform that still doesn't seem quite right to me (but at least they look kinda mean now).

To end on a bright note, the Kings do have one of the nicest heritage jerseys in the NHL with this beauty. Too bad we only get to see it a handful of times. When I see these, I think LA hockey - Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer, Bernie Nicholls.

Black Aces Vintage: Total Recall Edition

A few uniforms we'd like to see in the NHL again:

Vancouver Canucks 1978 - 1985: This one is crying out to be one of those retro jerseys used in a future Winter Classic or Heritage game. It's ugly, yes, but in that "so ugly it's good" kind of way. Mustard helmets are also rad.

New York Rangers 1976 - 1978:  These were brought in by GM John Ferguson Sr. and they were a big break from tradition and not very popular at the time. But these look pretty sharp in retrospect and would make a nice third jersey.

Minnesota North Stars 1967 - 1991: Either the Dallas Stars or the Minnesota Wild would do well to bring back a variant of one of these classic sweaters. The simplicity of the older model worn by Tim Young is my favourite but the Hartsburg era sweaters with the shoulder yokes are right up there.

Toronto Maple Leafs 1970 - 1992: The Leafs wore these uni's through their wilderness years in the 70's and 80's under infamous owner Harold Ballard and there are rumours the Leafs may be bringing these back as a third jersey.

Ottawa Senators 1995 - 1997: They wore the white ones up until 2007 but discontinued the classic black a decade earlier. These second-set uni's (the first sweaters were similar but not perfected yet) were classy and pre-cartoon era. These were also the last dark sweaters with a normal waist stripe. Sadly, it will probably take a lot longer for the organization to realize they had it right in the first place. How many more gimmick uniforms are we going to be subjected to?

***

Ottawa Senators Horrific Blast From The Past

If there is one photo that could dissuade anyone from going back to these jerseys, this would be the one. Radek Bonk had a very underrated Kentucky Waterfall going on back in his draft year. I wonder how much his rookie cards are worth nowadays?

What Is Clouston Thinking?

After yet another stunted offensive game by the Senators where they again managed only 19 shots and a few limited scoring chances in a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, you have to wonder what coach Cory Clouston is thinking by benching one of his best offensive defenseman for a second straight game.

Of course we're talking about Erik Karlsson who for some reason is the one feeling the wrath of the coach after the entire team went into a tailspin the previous week due to very understandable circumstances.

Not many people questioned the decision due to the fact that the Senators escaped with a win against the Kings despite struggling offensively for much of the game. Clouston didn't want to change things up for Wednesday night's tilt against the Stars but it backfired on him.

The Senators weren't getting scoring chances or shots because they didn't have the puck in the offensive zone. The reason for that is because they couldn't get there with the puck and they couldn't score on their few power-plays, two things that Karlsson is best at. Even his detractors would have to admit that.

Look at it this way -  going into the Dallas game, Karlsson was fifth in team scoring and second among rearguards with 11 points. He's tied with Sergei Gonchar for goals and tied for the team lead in game winning goals. He leads the defense in shots on goal and consistently gets the puck through the neutral zone.

Yet he was eating popcorn Wednesday night while the Senators trudged their way to 19 shots and one fluke goal by Ryan Shannon that was a softie let in by Andrew Raycroft.

It didn't make sense to sit him against L.A. and it made even less sense to sit him against Dallas. There was nothing so wrong with his game that couldn't be solved with a meeting and a stern reminder to stay away from bad penalties. Benching the kid was an overreaction.

In short, Clouston didn't ice the best possible team and the Senators looked haggard in a snoozer of a home loss.

So what's the reasoning here?

The Senators were flying on all cylinders but were put into upheaval by the tragedy that everyone already knows so much about. They had a hard week on the road and most, if not all, of the media and fans were very forgiving, realizing that the three straight losses were not indicative of what this team is usually capable of. In a sense, it was a mulligan week. It was time to move on.

But instead of keeping the course steady, Clouston scrambled the lines that were responsible for five wins in six games before the slump took hold. He split up the successful pairing of Jason Spezza with Alexei Kovalev and with Karlsson now sitting, has inexplicably put Sergei Gonchar back on the left side on the power-play even though that pairing with Karlsson on the left was working so well previously.

Doesn't make sense.

Surely, reason will prevail here and Karlsson will be inserted into the lineup for the game against the Penguins on Friday afternoon. If and when Karlsson doesn't work miracles and single-handedly win the game for the Sens, people will be on his case even more, especially if the very effective David Hale is the one who has to sit. Tough situation for the kid no matter how you look at it.

But you won't win a lot of games in the NHL if you're sitting one of your best weapons, no matter what kind of point you're trying to make by doing it.

Black Aces Senators 3 Stars - Dallas 2 Ottawa 1

1. Pascal Leclaire
2. Ryan Shannon
3. Chris Campoli

NOTES

Watching Nick Foligno suffer through the early part of the season has been nothing but a downer for everyone, but, as always, Foligno is his own worst enemy.

Seeing the decisions he makes on the ice kind of lets you in on his mindset. It's clear that in his head he thinks he's a skilled top six forward but the evidence suggests otherwise. Breaking down the left side in the second period, Foligno had a chance to shoot the puck at Andrew Raycroft but instead decided to do a spinarama and try to feed the puck blindly to the slot. His feet and hands aren't the quickest and of course the gambit failed and a scoring chance was lost. This type of thing happens all the time to Nick. If he would have been thinking straight he would have snapped that shot away even though he was to the outside and taken a chance that someone would be there for the rebound.

In a strange way, Foligno skates and carries the puck a lot like Spezza, hunched over with the puck way out in front of him, but he just doesn't have the speed or the hands to make those creative plays. He should be grinding out a north/south groove in the ice towards the net at all times and the less he handles the puck the better. I don't know because I've never seen it up close, but it almost seems like Foligno's stick is way too long. Maybe it's just the impression I get because of his skating style, but a guy like him should borrow Ryan Shannon's stick for a game and keep that puck close to his feet instead of hanging it out there on a broken yo-yo string like he always does. If he wants to have a long career, he's going to have to completely change the way he plays. He should realize he doesn't have the foot speed to be a scoring winger and start playing a greasy type of game. The sooner the better.......

.....The NHL is getting it right big time by allowing cameras to follow the Oilers around this season for the TSN show Oil Change.  You can learn more about life in the NHL by watching a single show than you can watching years and years of hallway player interviews conducted by journalists content with asking questions no one cares to hear the answers to.  It’s also interesting to watch the show for Sens fans as they can get a glimpse of Ladislav Smid, a player that was part of a trade package headed to Ottawa before being nixed by Dany Heatley. He’s a big, steady player on the ice and a bit of a jokester off of it, having the kind of personality that would fit into any locker room. Even coach Tom Renney can’t help but laugh (most of the time) at “Laddy”.  And from what we hear, Smid was happy the trade was nixed because he likes life in Edmonton. Now that’s a player you want to keep around..…. If you believe these sorts of things, talk is that Dustin Penner is available at the right price (well, duh). Could Bryan Murray still have interest after not getting him in the ill-fated Heatley trade with Edmonton? It would be hard to fit his salary on the Senators unless they moved someone like Milan Michalek for him, who’s signed for two more years than Penner at a near identical salary. Not sure that would be a good trade for Ottawa but it's something to chew on….. Okay, geez, I'm always poking fun at hockey rumour blogs and their ilk, but can I start one of my own, just this once? How about Nick Foligno and Brian Lee for Andrew Cogliano? Ottawa could sure use some more speed in that lineup and you can almost see Foligno in an Oilers jersey if you squint a little.....

.....Prediction: Bryan Murray won’t find a taker for Brian Lee, will put him on waivers and watch him clear and wonder why he kept him on the NHL roster for so damn long for no damn reason…… Will anyone want Doug Weight at the trade deadline?  You just know Weight doesn’t want to end his career playing for the miserable Islanders. He’d be an interesting fit on either the Vancouver Canucks or San Jose Sharks as a part-time veteran role player. One of those guys like Dave Andreychuk with the Lightning, you know, “let’s win for Dougie” type of thing. It seems both the Sharks and the Canucks are so close but they need an emotional element to put them over the top. I’m not saying its Doug Weight who will do it, but they need more to motivate them than being called underachievers year after year. They need something or someone to rally around to push them over the top. Otherwise, it looks like Detroit is again the team to beat in the West, maybe in the whole NHL. Their rallying cry? One more Cup for Nick Lidstrom, Kris Draper and Chris Osgood before they retire.

No Need To Sit Karlsson

Interesting bit of news after Sens practice on Tuesday when Cory Clouston seemed to imply that sophomore defenseman Erik Karlsson would be sitting out a second straight game as a healthy scratch against the Dallas Stars.

Obviously, Karlsson is being punished for a string of bad play during the last week and a handful of bad penalties, but is it really necessary to make him sit two games in a row?

If Clouston indeed does go ahead and scratches Karlsson, the Senators will once again struggle to create consistent offense. Without Karlsson against the Kings, the Senators had under 20 shots and could barely break out of their end.

If you say it's for the good of Karlsson's development, I don't really buy it. Sure, one game sends the message, but sitting a guy for multiple games when he's obviously one of your most dangerous defenseman just seems like overkill and unnecessary posturing by the coaching staff.

It would seem to imply that the kid "just doesn't get it", yet from all we've heard about this guy, he's a hard worker who respects his coaches and his teammates. For sure, it's going to light a fire under his ass when he returns but we suspect he'll settle down and continue to be one of this team's best players on the blueline, something he would have done if he was made a healthy scratch or not. In the meantime, we play psychological games.

I just didn't see enough offensive opportunities against the Kings to justify Clouston sitting down one of his top weapons for another important home game.

What's the point? I just don't get it.

***

In case you missed the Chris Neil- Kevin Westgarth scrap.... behold.

Out Of The Wilderness

That's the funny thing about prolonged streaks, both winning and losing.

The team and its fans are either sky high with confidence or rock bottom with the burden of unrelieved angst and pessimism.

But like all streaks, if you look closely, sometimes you can see the little signs that tell you it's about to break, for good or for bad.

Take Ottawa's big winning run just before the Olympic break. The wins were piling up, but near the end, defensive mistakes were popping up but because the luck was flowing so freely, the little flaws never seemed to hurt the team.

The same can be said for the post-Olympic losing streak.

Not many, including myself, could see through the haze of failure to notice that, slowly, the Senators were starting to turn their game around, even if it was at the speed of an ocean liner changing course halfway across the Atlantic.

They were going through a massive offensive dry spell but racked up 3 goals against Atlanta on Thursday and 4 goals against the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Both losses were huge letdowns but at least they were trending up in the goal scoring department.

Yet most of the worry was directed at the goaltending situation, and the Senators hobbled into Montreal on Monday night with seemingly everything on the line. A loss would have dropped them below the Habs in the East and left them open to a do or die game against Philly on Tuesday.

Who could have foreseen that Brian Elliott, only slightly less tarnished than the now completely counted out Pascal Leclaire, would be able to throw down a shutout in this kind of hostile environment?

Count me as one who would have laughed at the suggestion before the opening faceoff.

Elliott was stellar but he was given plenty of help by the Senators penalty kill and a godsend power play goal by Erik Karlsson, who made amends after a tough outing against the Stars.

From all reports by those who watch this team every day in practice and on airplanes, the guys are a tight knit group who support each other and still believe in themselves, despite the utter panic they cause with their wildly uneven play during the season.

There was no wild celebration when the 2-0 result became official. In fact, the players looked collected and somewhat reserved when crowding around Elliott after the buzzer, save for a few well deserved face washes amongst the younger guys.

It looked like business as usual from a team that has learned there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, even when everyone around them has figured them for also-rans.

As they left the ice, Chris Phillips, who battles the same way every night - at full tilt - was there to give his customary glove taps after a win, and suddenly, the Senators odds of not only making the playoffs, but avoiding the dreaded matchup with either Pittsburgh or Washington, look a whole lot better going into a home game against a Philly team with no number one goalie and their top scorer on the shelf with a broken foot.

But don't look to me for the answers. I was ready to write them off myself. I'm just as fascinated as the rest of you as to how this storyline will play out.

Black Aces Senators 3 Stars

1. Brian Elliott
2. Erik Karlsson
3. Daniel Alfredsson

Honourable mentions: Andy Sutton, Matt Cullen, Peter Regin and Jason Spezza.

NOTES

The 1992 NHL Entry Draft seems like a long time ago but tonight in Montreal, there was Roman Hamrlik still going strong for his 5th team, having played well over a thousand games in the league. Not many people remember, but according to Roy MacGregor's essential book on the first year Ottawa Senators, "Road Games", Hamrlik was highly coveted by general manager Mel "Ottawa Apologises" Bridgman and the rest of his Ottawa staff. Hamrlik was not only a potential star defenseman, he also fit into the Senators marketing theme of the "Roman Warrior". As it happened, Hamrlik was Tampa GM Phil Esposito's first choice and Bridgman took Alexei Yashin 2nd overall. While this doesn't have the same cache as Detroit being forced to pick Steve Yzerman 4th overall after their desired pick, Pat Lafontaine was snagged by the Islanders 3rd overall in the 1983 Entry Draft, Bridgman made the right choice in the end. Despite Yashin's turbulent Sens career, for a while, Yashin was one of the best centres in the league and was a big part of those first three seasons (97, 98, 99) the Sens made the playoffs. Hamrlik has been steady but not exactly worthy of his number one status. But the fact is, he remains in the league while Yashin is a pariah, exiled to the KHL. So who would you pick if you had the chance all over again? I'd still take Yashin......

It's been awhile since I've seen a player hit himself in the head with his own stick on purpose (if ever) but that's what Matt Carkner did after giving the puck away in the 1st period. Hopefully, being named "Mr. Hottawa Senator" hasn't gone to his head. I've said it before, but Carks hasn't been the same guy since getting KO'd by Colton Orr before the Olympic break. He'd never admit it, but I think his confidence was stung by that very public defeat. Still, Carkner is a great find as a sixth defenseman and I expect him to be a character player for this team for a few years yet..... Wonder what Alex Kovalev said to former linemate Tomas Plekanek to make the Hab break out laughing after a close play at the Montreal net? Maybe he wondered out loud why he ever left Montreal in the first place...... Once in a while, when I'm unable to make up my mind on the game prediction in the Ottawa Citizen panel, I'll ask my two and a half month old son for some advice. Usually, I'll get some sort of hand signal, but when I asked him if the Senators would beat Dallas on Saturday, he let out an enormously loud fart. I didn't know if that was a yes or a no. I chose Ottawa and lost. Now I know......

However this unfathomable season ends up in the history books, it's become clear to me that Bryan Murray made two great moves in picking up Matt Cullen and Andy Sutton. Throughout the losing streak, these two guys have been among their better players and both should at least end up having conversations with Murray about a contract to play in Ottawa beyond this year. They'll both be hard to fit under the cap, maybe impossible, but it would be worth moving Filip Kuba to keep Sutton and someone up front to keep Cullen. They're that good, if you ask me..... Speaking of Sutton, we all knew he was a physical defenseman, but he has been lethal as a big body against the boards. He's delivered at least three massive, highlight bodychecks since donning the black and red and tonight he crushed Benoit Pouliot in the second period. Later on he bulldozed one of the Kostitsyns in the third. And for once, he didn't get called for a phantom penalty.......

Would it really be so bad if Ottawa ended up in 6th place and played the Sabres in the first round, as some have already pointed out? To me, the only two teams they must avoid at all costs are the Pens and the Caps. The Senators have beaten Martin Brodeur before. They can do it again. With complete respect for the future Hall of Famer, it's clear that Brodeur is not as infallible as he once was and it brings to mind the last two years of Patrick Roy's career where he took that little step back, which robbed him of his aggressive edge. That being said, Brodeur has so much experience that he is still capable of backstopping his team to a Stanley Cup. Never count out a winner..... I don't know this for a fact, but I'm willing to bet linesman across the league share one thing in common: they must hate it that after every whistle, the player nearest the puck feels the need to scoop it up and juggle it with his stick so the linesman can grab it out of the air. Just watch the linesman. All they want is to get that damn puck and get it to the faceoff dot. But they have to hesitantly wait while Joe Blow fumbles around for 5 seconds trying to look slick...... Two hairstyles separated at birth: Dallas coach Marc Crawford and veteran ref Kerry Fraser (who had to start wearing a helmet after the lockout. It still doesn't look right to see him out there with that lid.) .......

I'm not a huge fan of modern goalie masks for the reason that they are so detailed, they rarely look as good on TV as the old, simple, bold designs. But I have to admit the Stars Kari Lehtonen has a real beauty with his ode to Clint Eastwood, and in particular, his popular character The Man With No Name from the epic Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns.

Sens Rookies and Old Hasek Stories...

A couple of quick notes on the Ottawa Senators 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the annual rookie tournament which was shown on Rogers locally tonight:

- Right off the start, rookie goalie and 2009 draft pick, Robin Lehner (46th overall) looked really good and made some highlight reel saves throughout the game. It's probably no surprise to some as Lehner was the number one ranked European goalie going into the draft and his father is a renowned goalie coach who instructed Ranger superstar Henrik Lundqvist early on in his career.

It was strange, but Lehner looked dominant and about as close to an NHL goalie that a rookie from Sweden could look like in these circumstances. You really noticed his quick legs as he made multiple stops by shooting out his pads in that butterfly style and his rebound control was almost perfect.

It's only one game in a rookie tournament, but Lehner couldn't have gotten off to a better start in an Ottawa uniform. He's going to stay in North America this season and play for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL.

- Erik Karlsson was the other star of the night and was silky smooth as expected, scoring a nice goal from the point on a laser beam shot. He's a great skater and looked calm and cool at all times.

-Others who impressed were Mike Hoffman, a speedy forward who scored 52 goals in the Q last year. Bryan Murray snagged him with his fifth pick (130th overall) and that may end up being a steal if Hoffman develops as hoped. A lot of you might wonder how a guy who scored over 50 goals in Major Junior could drop to the 5th round but the wide-open QMJHL is notorious for players putting up wild offensive numbers but then falling back once they face professional competition. Hoffman is a little small (175 pounds on draft day) but he has wheels and hands that should take him far.

Peter Regin looked great in the 1st period and then kind of disappeared until the late going of the 3rd. He looks like an NHL player to me, more so than Zack Smith who didn't really do much except get into a nasty scrap at the end of the game. He looks a little like a Cody Bass clone but I'd have to see him in more games to really get a take on his game. Bryan Murray and the organization are really high on him so that says a lot for his chances. He wore the captains "C" on the ice tonight.

Geoff Kinrade and Craig Schira looked solid on defence and Erik Condra really stood out for me out front tonight. His name was mentioned every time he was on the ice and he seemed "pesky" for lack of a better term. The product of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey program, Condra will surely make the Bingo Senators this year and hopefully make an impression there. I really like his game and hope he makes some noise this year.

- Not much in the negative vein except that Jim O'Brien continues to underwhelm. I'm just not sure what O'Brien really does well and he was invisible most of the night. He did have a great year with Seattle in the WHL last year and will get a chance to play more games with Bingo this season. But it's hard to believe that O'Brien was a 1st round pick (29th overall) back in 2007. Maybe I'm wrong about O'Brien and he ends up being a good checking forward in the NHL someday. We'll wait and see.

The entertaining game ended with a series of scraps, one of which left try-out prospect Brett Parnham dazed and confused at centre ice. He had to be helped off the ice by teammates after getting cranked pretty good by a Penguin player whose name I now forget. Parnham ended up with 50 goals for Oshawa last season and played 7 games for Rochester in the AHL. He could end up as an over-ager with the Generals again this season.

For those who are interested, Rogers is showing the Senators first real exhibition game next Tuesday against the Florida Panthers. It will be interesting to see who survives rookie camp to make the main camp which starts this weekend.

***

Just flipping through some old Hockey News yearbooks and came across this hilarious piece about Dominik Hasek from the 98-99 edition. Hasek was then just coming off two consecutive MVP trophies, four Vezina's in five years and an Olympic gold medal in Nagano. He was also about to lead the very ordinary Buffalo Sabres to the Stanley Cup final, only to lose on a controversial goal by Brett Hull of the Dallas Stars. In other words, Hasek was by far the best player in the NHL at that point. Yet....

"Sure he's quirky. A few years ago, during one team huddle at center ice, someone noticed Hasek down on all fours in the corner of the rink. His gloves were off. "So it was like 'What the hell is this guy doing?' " remembered Rob Ray. They yelled to him. "Dom, what are you doing?" " I'm playing chess," came the reply. Apparently, he was melting out squares of the chessboard with the body heat of his fingertip. Hasek denies the story. "They thought I'm playing chess, " he said, "but I was playing with the snow on the ice because it was a boring practice."

I love Hasek, man, I love him...

Comrie On The Move Again?

Has Mike Comrie suddenly become the "Dead Man Walking" of the Ottawa Senators?

Quietly, Comrie has begun to disappear into the lineup, playing marginal minutes on the third line and being fairly invisible on the power play.

Comrie hasn't had a point since March 22 against the Rangers (He got one tonight). That was 8 games ago.

Before that Ranger game, Comrie had gone 5 matches without a point. So that math is now 2 points in his last 13 games. In total he has 7 points in 19 games as a Senator.

Not only is Comrie not making a case for himself to stay near his current 4 million salary, he's making himself an also-ran in the unofficial "Comrie or Neil" sweepstakes.

Bryan Murray may only have the money to sign one of Comrie or Chris Neil and right now, it's a no-brainer. Neil is the guy.

Just take a look at tonight's physical match in Montreal. Neil was noticeable all night long in a game that was as close as the Senators will get to a playoff atmosphere. Comrie was tiptoeing through the tulips.

It's clear that Ryan Shannon has outplayed Comrie and has gained the trust of Cory Clouston. That's why Comrie is treading water on the third line.

Comrie is an excellent player at times and he still has a lot to offer a team like Ottawa, but right now it doesn't look like his head is into it. I'm not saying he's pouting at the minutes he's getting, but he's also not proving Clouston wrong by playing his way back up the charts.

I'd expect Murray to look elsewhere to park Eugene Melnyk's money next season. The feeling is likely mutual.

***

Larry Brooks of the NY Post makes a great point about the overblown hullabaloo surrounding Sean Avery's comical Slapshot act with Bruins goalie Tim Thomas:

"Excuse me, but Milan Lucic sticks out his leg and injures a defenseless Nik Antropov by going knee-on-knee midway through the second period on Saturday, and it's Sean Avery who should be suspended for kind of stupidly using his stick to tap Tim Thomas on the back of his helmet during a TV timeout?

The absence of context is the crux of the issue here, just as always. Headhunters such as Chris Pronger and Gary Roberts, who historically injure opponents, are routinely deified, notably by the sanctimonious brigade north of the border, but Avery, who has never hurt anyone but himself, must be banned for the good of the sport? "

To be honest, it's getting a little tiresome listening to the morality brigade trying to kick Avery out of the NHL for even the mildest of incidents.



What Avery did to Thomas was hilarious and solidly in the long NHL tradition of the pest.

The self-righteousness of the punditry when it comes to Avery is getting stale. They complain the game doesn't have enough personalities yet they hammer down every nail that dares to rise up from the grain.

One minute they love Alex Ovechkin and his wild celebrations, the next they want him humiliated for celebrating too hard.

And Brooks is right. The hockey media establishment in Canada thinks they own the game and deem themselves the ultimate arbiters of taste and behaviour. They haven't seen an outrageous personality like Avery before and they don't like it (yet they forget the likes of Eddie Shack and Tiger Williams were almost equal the morons of a guy like Avery. Williams once did the same thing except it was to Scotty Bowman's head when he was on the bench watching the play down the ice. True story. Look it up.).

They try to pin the blame on Avery for the Dallas Star's lost season but in reality, it was not having a healthy Sergei Zubov and Marty Turco playing the worst hockey of his career that led to their downfall.

They've been rid of Avery for a long time now but they completely faded down the stretch on their own.

So save the morality lessons and let the kid goon it up. It's fun to watch.

Likely Destinations

Bryan Murray told the press today that he has been in contact with the agents for pending unrestricted free-agents Chris Neil and Filip Kuba, but that neither were close to signing a new contract with Ottawa.

He vowed not to let them leave this summer for no compensation and would explore trading both before next Wednesday's trade deadline.

I've already written about why Murray should bend over backwards to re-sign Neil and keep his special skill set on this team but I also understand why he doesn't want to let him or Kuba walk for nothing.

As for Kuba, I don't think he has a future with this team. His 3 million salary is not prohibitive but he's sure to demand a raise and I don't think he's worth it. He's calm with the puck but he rarely shoots it, something that has hurt this team on the power-play. While it's tough to give up on yet another puck-moving defenseman, recently acquired Chris Campoli seems like a good replacement at a cheaper price.

So if Murray feels he has to move both of these players (hopefully in Neil's case, they come to a contract agreement), where would be the best fit around the league?

Chris Neil

Calgary: Not much to base this on but the fact that Neil is definitely a Mike Keenan-esque player - a guy who can play the game and drop the gloves.

Dallas: Once you get past Steve Ott, this team is soft as butter. That's one of the reasons they took a chance on the now departed Sean Avery. Neil would be the perfect counterpart to skilled players like Brad Richards, Mike Ribeiro and Mike Modano.

Minnesota: Another team with little toughness outside of Cal Clutterbuck (and Derek Boogard of course!!).

San Jose: This rumour has been making the rounds for some time but the Sharks have a glut of forwards already. Do you sit Jeremy Roenick, Mike Grier or Claude Lemieux, guys who seem handpicked by GM Doug Wilson to make hay in the playoffs?

Vancouver: They don't have much depth at right wing or on their third or fourth lines. Neil would be a perfect fit with the Canucks, short and long-term.

Filip Kuba

Columbus: This team needs to make the playoffs this year but Mike Commodore is their second highest scoring defenseman. That's not a good sign. Kuba can definitely fill a need and in the right package, might even fetch Ottawa young defenseman Kris Russell, whom Murray is rumoured to be hot after.

Dallas: Kuba isn't exactly Sergei Zubov, but with the Stars fighting for their playoff lives, Kuba would be a nice-fill in for the injured star. Players like Matt Niskanen and Trevor Daley are doing a good job but Kuba would give them some much needed depth.

Los Angeles: Don't laugh. The Kings are still in the playoff hunt with Kyle Quincey being their only defenseman with over 20 points. They need help on the back end big time and they have a plethora of prospects to deal.

Minnesota: The Wild are just barely holding on to that last playoff spot in the West and could use a boost on the back end. They are already familiar with Kuba and he would be an upgrade on Martin Skoula. They already have their big guns in Brent Burns and Marek Zidlicky but Kuba would give them one of the deepest set of blueliners in the West.

New Jersey: They definitely need another offensive blueliner but word is they are hunting bigger fish than Kuba.

Downtime

With the craziness of Christmas upon us, the posts will be few and far between on Black Aces until the first week of January, when everything will return to normal.

As for the Friday and Saturday games, two Christmas parties in two nights didn't make for any detailed viewing but it was pretty wild to see Jason Smith deliver a win for the Senators in overtime.

To me, the biggest question remains (other than the immediate health of Alfie) whether or not Hartsburg decides to go with Martin Gerber against the high scoring Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

The coach seems pretty hesitant to let Auld get on a roll again by playing him after a bad game but Gerber almost sunk this team last night with his usual mediocre play.

If neither goalie can get hot again, it's going to be a long road trip.

Perpetual Road Trip On The Horizon

Putting Martin Gerber in the nets against Chicago on Wednesday night seems reasonable enough but the decision is also a risky one.

The game is not a must-win by any means but soon enough the Senators are going to be in a tough position schedule-wise.

Starting on December 23 in Philadelphia, the Senators are on the road for 8 straight games to make way for the World Junior Championships here in town. Unfortunately for Craig Hartsburg and company, only the Toronto Maple Leafs are considered somewhat of a soft-touch but the Senators have already lost to them once this season.

What's even worse is that the Senators are on the road for 11 of their next 14 games and also face two separate road trips of 5 and 6 games in February and March respectively.

The moral of the story?

The Senators need to rack up points right now because they are not the type of team that can win an upcoming 6 out of 8 on one road trip. It's just not going to happen.

When Gerber is in the net, who knows what the result will be? I doubt that he provides the best option to win the game but at some point, Alex Auld needs a break.

Now "Super Mario" gets his chance. But he better stop that first shot...

***

More problems for Senators fans. The game tomorrow night is on TSN 2, a channel that is not carried by Rogers Cable. It's not being shown on Centre Ice either. Maybe it's because I live in the city, but I don't know one person who uses satellite cable, which is the only way to watch the game.

Just add it to the already lengthy list of nights this year that fans haven't been able to watch their hometown team. It's starting to feel like we're the Bill Wirtz owned Chicago Blackhawks circa 2000.

At least us Rogers subscribers have about 30 Sportsnet regional channels all showing the same thing - poker and UFC.

***

I keep telling you, with Tampa falling apart, Ottawa should try to get their hands on Mark Recchi. If Ottawa moves a certain forward to get help on defence, Recchi would be the perfect replacement. He's fast, he's cheap, and he's got at least one more playoff run in him. He'd be a great replacement for Cory Stillman (who would have been useful in Ottawa this year) and the time and price couldn't be more right.

***

And for the record, yes, Glenn Kulka disparaged Jason Spezza today on Over The Edge, saying the youngster needs to do more for the team.

Four goals in two games doesn't provide a big opening for criticism but Kulka somehow managed to find the justification. Now that takes pure skill.

Congratulations Kulkster.

The sceptics said it couldn't be done. Even I thought you'd have to go at least one day without it.

But you showed them. Don't ever let the facts get in the way of a good ol' Spezza shitkicking.

***

In case you missed this, Sports Illustrated ranked the NHL's new third jersey's and Ottawa fared poorly, finishing 17th out of 19, just ahead of Atlanta and Dallas. Like everyone else, the main problem seems to be with the "Sens" patch on the front.

The Big Breakout

With the big win tonight, the Senators made their Long Island loss on Saturday look like a minor blip in their steady resurgence.

Losing on the road is a given for every team over the course of the season. But bouncing back with wins at home (albeit against a struggling Atlanta squad) shows some fortitude and the Senators may now be slowly turning things around with 3 straight home wins and 8 points out of a possible 12 in their last 6 games.

The big line really let loose tonight but they've accounted for nearly 50 percent of the team's goals all-season, so that's not so unexpected.

What really stood out was the play of guys like Jesse Winchester, Brendan Bell, Anton Volchenkov and Mike Fisher.

And let's not forget Shean Donovan who cranked a team high 7 shots at backup Ondrej Pavelec.

But no one should get too excited. People were on the ledge after Saturday's loss and they'll be popping the champagne tonight. But the real test will be Saturday's game against the Penguins who are now just starting to hit their stride after an uneven start.

***

I may owe Jesse Winchester an apology. Just a few posts ago I said that it might be inevitable that Winchester and Nick Foligno find themselves in the minors if the Senators trade for some veteran help. Then Winchester gets in two scraps and plays chippy all night, looking like a real NHL'er. What can I say? I was wrong. I still think Foligno might need time in the AHL but now he'll probably get a hat-trick on Saturday. That's life in the blog writing business ........ Jarkko Ruutu was a little quiet tonight and probably for good reason. Once Dany Heatley opened the scoring early in the first, it would have been counter-productive for Ruutu to wake up the Thrashers who were playing their second game in two nights. He'll be at his best on Saturday versus his old team, the Pens......... Not that Sidney Crosby will be intimidated by the likes of Ruutu. Crosby looked like he was going to drop the gloves with the Rangers Colton Orr tonight until Brooks Orpik stepped in. ............ For what it's worth, Christoph Schubert played really well tonight on defense, but so did everybody. He still might have a future with the team if injuries strike. You never know...... You want my take on the Avery thing? I agree with Matthew Barnaby from TSN in that he should have been fined and not suspended. "Sloppy seconds"? It was totally crude and stupid but is it worth all this fuss? Some newspapers wouldn't even print the words "sloppy seconds", instead using "ex-girlfriends" in its place. Really? But at the same time, I wouldn't want Avery on my team. He's amusing when he's somebody else's problem.......... Now that the Senators have won, what are they going to talk about on Over The Edge tomorrow (today)? Who are they going to tell to work harder? Who are they going to demand to be benched?