As the Ottawa Senators prepare to open the season in Stockholm, Sweden tomorrow against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Sens will most likely be without center Mike Fisher. Fisher once again re-aggravated his groin in yesterday's last pre-season tune-up. My question is, with the problems he has had over the last year or more with his groin(s), why was he even dressed? The Sens had two healthy scratches at the forward position in Shean Donovan and Dean McAmmond. Either player would have been a suitable replacement for a pre-season game. What makes this situation even more bizarre is that the Sens don't play again until next Saturday in their home opener against Detroit. After that they don't play again until the following Friday at home against Phoenix. What was the rush in getting Fisher back in the line-up? So what if he misses the pre-season game against Frolunda HC and the two regular season games in Sweden. He could have rested another 10 days before playing at home against the Red Wings, but instead Fisher, the training and coaching staff rushed him back. If this latest injury situation with Fisher has you scratching your head, it should!
If Fisher doesn't play tomorrow, you could see the line of Chris Neil-Cody Bass-Jarkko Ruutu reunited and if it could be the iritating third line it was in the pre-season, the Pens just might take a few dumb penalties. This would move up Chris Kelly to the second line with Antoine Vermette and Jesse Winchester. All of this would be mean a fourth line of Nick Foligno-Shean Donovan-Christoph Schubert. Of course, the Pizza line would remain intact as the number one unit. Healthy scratches most likely will be Dean McAmmond and Luke Richardson.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, the Sens forwards will try to get the puck in deep on a thin Pittsburgh defense. Their top 4 isn't what it could be with the likes of Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney out of action. Ottawa should exploit the Pens depth on the blueline and it wouldn't surprise one bit if they win both games. Pittsburgh depends on the powerplay more than most teams. Just look at the stats from last year where Pittsburgh scored thirty three percent of their goals on the powerplay.
Enjoy the games on the weekend, I will be back each night with a post-game blog.
With regards to Alexander Nikulin, as I wrote towards the end of last season in this blog, Nikulin has always thought he was better than most NHL people thought of him. He is a perimeter player who refuses to work hard and improve his game. So his announcement of asking for trade yesterday comes as no surprise. He was mentioned all summer long in possible trade talks for a reason. There is a strong chance he will end up in the KHL and he can join another former Senator who thought he was terrific but was far from it in Alexei Kaigorodov. Kaigorodov played for his club team against the NY Rangers in a pre-season game a few days ago.
When looking at the Brad Isbister situation, one has to wonder why he even bothered to sign in Ottawa in the first place. I am sure there were other teams that he could have possibly found a fulltime NHL roster spot. All Isbister had to do was look at the amount of depth Ottawa had at the forward position. His agent did him a disservice by not getting him a contract on a team where he stood a far better chance of sticking in the NHL this year.
With the amount of extra forwards the Sens currently employ and with Nikulin wanting out, there is a chance that Sens GM Bryan Murray could package a few players/draft picks for a power forward or he will address the thin defense down in Binghamton. The depth at forward down in Binghamton is tremendous but they lack quality defensemen. Outside of Brendan Bell and Matt Carkner, the Baby Sens need some help to go with the strong goaltending tandem they will have in Jeff Glass and Brian Elliott.
Here is a great article on Brendan Bell. Michael Sharp of the Press and Sun Bulletin does a great job of covering the Baby Sens. Here is the link.
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081002/SPORTS01/810020336&theme=bsens
Lastly, NHL and NFL fans out there, I have a close friend who can get some Reebok jerseys at wholesale costs. I am not going to post every team and player that I can get but if you are interested or have a question please e-mail me or IM me here at Hockeybuzz. I will see what I can do for each of you! This is a great offer for all you hockeybuzz readers.
Be sure to check us out at www.sportstalkbuzz.com for all your other sports discussion. Live NFL discussion all day long while the games are in progress. As well, we are still searching for a Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings blogger in the NFL. If you are interested be sure to drop me an e-mail.
Our Anaheim Angels blogger will be doing a in-game blog tonight as the Boston Red Sox take on the Angels in Game 2 of their ALDS series.
Kevin
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