A very slow-paced 40 minutes by the Sens comes back to haunt them.
Coming into the game, Brian Elliott was riding an 8-game winning streak and the Sens riding a 5 game streak.
Unfortunately, as I said above, the Sens came out with their usual, slow-paced emotionless play in the first period. With all the big changes made and the continued success, Clouston will likely find a cure to this issue for next season.
What’s remarkable about the issue of playing an empty first period is that the Sens are/were still finding ways to win games or simply put the Sens have been playing with heart.
Anyways back to the game.
The First 2
-Both teams played 'not to lose' for the first 2 periods and it translated into a Wild/Devils style of game - very slow, fairly un-entertaining and scoreless.
-Nick Foligno playing on the 1st PP unit with Spezza and Alfie looks like a brilliant plan. The Sens haven't been known for parking a big, annoying body in front of the net since Chara left. I'd expect Clouston to go to this formation more and more often as the season winds down. Having Heatley available for the 2nd PP unit could open up a very dangerous 1-2 punch.
-Speaking of the 2nd PP, Ryan Shannon has been able to slide into the point-position almost flawlessly, and continues to amaze people with his phenomenal slap-shot. Like I said plug Heatley into this formation and it's a recipe for success.
-Brian Elliott showed up for another strong effort, and should have been rewarded with a win. His performance down the stretch has made an instant goalie-controversy for next season. Who plays 2nd fiddle to Leclaire? Or even pushes Leclaire for the starter job.
-Mike Fisher looked very light on his feet and was deking around everyone at times, I honestly can't remember the last time I saw this version of Fisher, but I won't complain as either form of Fisher seems to help the Sens.
The Third and Final
-Ryan Shannon continues his 'coming out party' with a goal 1:16 into the period. This kid is proving to be a hell of a steal, considering we trade Lawrence Nycholat (if you don't know who he is, then you already know enough about him.)
-Nick Foligno threw some big hits, and was solid all night, but was very effective in the 3rd, facing off against Staal for the majority of the period. With the way Foligno and Shannon are developing, and how much chemistry they have together do we really need to spend 3-4 million for another top-six forward? A 2nd line of Shannon-Comrie-Foligno sounds good to me for next season.
-The game has really sped up, with both Conboy and Ruutu in the box. Finally this game has action.
-All the back and forth action kills the lead for Ottawa, as the ageless wonder Brind'Amour strikes for Carolina.
-Penalties’ expire and the game's pace continues to rocket, as both teams are finally playing to win.
-A bad break for the Sens as Fisher goes off for tripping, leading to an Anton Babchuk PP goal, his third PPG in 5 games.
-A monstrous hit by Tuomo Ruutu on Christoph Schubert. A clear lesson for kids to always keep their heads up. Good job by the Sens for not retaliating for a clean hit.
-Some great efforts by the Sens to tie it up and Spezza came very close twice.
-Just as Spezza has regained his form lately, Heatley looks to have lost his, looking lazy at times tonight. Whether he's playing hurt or just having an off night or was, in fact lazy is debatable, but to be fair I've torn into Spezza, Gerber, Elliott, Fisher and Vermette for playing lazy or down-right bad, so it's only right I bring up Heatley when he is coasting along. His teammates were playing hard to find open ice, and create offence, while Heatley just stood still and teed up for a potential pass.
Hopefully everyone is back and ready to go on Saturday against Atlanta.
--------------------------------------------------------
It was brought up in the previous blogs forum, the question about who the Sens will be in position to draft?
Well considering the Sens recent hot-streak and return to form (almost) the Sens will likely end up with the 9th-13th draft pick giving the Sens some great options still. While none of these 4 players are a Hedman or Tavares type player (at least in hype) they all will likely become serviceable NHL players, maybe even legit stars.
Sidenote: These draft positions are based on ISS rankings.
9th - Dmitri Kulikov 6'1" 195lbs Young offensive defensemen playing for Drummondville of the QMJHL - 12 goals 50 assists in 57 games
A very quick talented D-man, clearly a few years away from being NHL ready, but he has shown a great attitude to succeed in North American hockey. Will likely play another year in Major Junior before heading into the AHL.
10th - Jacob Josefson 6'0" 187lbs Very Gifted center playing for Djurgarden of the Swedish Elite League - 5 goals 11 assists in 50 games (the majority as a 17 year old against seasoned vets.)
Form Eliteprospects.com - Josefsson is a highly skilled center. He plays a strong two-way game is very all-round. Hockey sense is excellent and skating ability and technical skills are very good. Nice creativity with the puck and a skilled playmaker and decent goal scorer. Makes smart decisions and plays a mature game. Gets involved in the rough stuff and has pretty good timing in his hits.
11th - Peter Holland 6'2" 190lbs Strong Center playing for the Guelph Storm - 28 goals 39 assists in 68 games
Good Canadian kid, that plays a very 'Canadian Style'. He loves to get nasty in the corners and has a real knack for finding open ice and creating space
12th - Jordan Schroeder 5'8" 165lbs A phenomenal young center who is excelling in his first year of NCAA Hockey - 13 goals 32 assists in 45 games
The kid is extremely fast, and is the American equivalent to Nikita Filatov. Creates his own space, and has a serious gift for making defenders look really stupid. The only knock I've come across on this kid, is his size. But hey the new NHL is built for him, supposedly.
13th - Ryan Ellis 5'10" 173lbs If you haven't heard of this kid yet, you’re living under a rock.
Meet the future of power play quarterbacks, this kid has incredible speed, and arguably has the best on-ice vision of any player in this draft. He's been called "One-Dimension" but is that really a bad thing when his one-dimension is being an incredible offensive defenseman who has a serious gift for scoring on the PP. I'm not kidding this kid is amazing on the point, because of his small size, you have to wonder if he can translate it to the NHL, but again given his unique skill, he's more than worth the gamble.
Given Murray's track-record, with a pick in this range, he already has his heart set on Jacob Josefson, and I would even expect the Murray to trade up like last-year to insure he gets his man.
As usual guys (and gals) continue with the e-mails and the posting in the forums.
Mark Christopher
[email protected] 
Join the Discussion:
»