Hey all,
Unfortunately I ran into a busy schedule and have not been able to keep up with the blog. As of now, it is obvious that the Ottawa Senators will not be making the playoffs, so I will wait until the end of the season to provide a recap of the 2013-14 session. Plenty to talk about as this may be the most disappointing Senators club I’ve covered since my arrival in 2009.
Until then…
A busy week for the Senators during the week of March 3rd-9th. Here’s a recap of what went down.
Monday, March 3rd – Day off for the team. Senators stay in Vancouver before flying to Edmonton. Bryan Murray speaks to the media, says there’s nothing new on the Chris Phillips contract negotiations.
Bryan Murray denies rumours the team is looking to deal Jason Spezza.
Tuesday, March 4th – Senators play the Edmonton Oilers. Craig Anderson started in net. Cowen and Kassian remained the scratches.
Senators would lose 3-2. Ales Hemsky scored 2 goals to bury the club.
Cory Conacher and Joe Corvo were placed on waivers by the team. The Senators acquire defenceman Patrick Mullen from the Canucks for forward Jeff Costello.
Wednesday, March 5th – Trade Deadline day. Cory Conacher is claimed by the Buffalo Sabres. Joe Corvo is loaned to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. The Senators acquired Ales Hemsky from the Oilers for a 5th round pick in 2014 and a 3rd round pick in 2015. The Senators traded forward Andre Petersson to the Anaheim Ducks for defenceman Alex Grant.
Chris Phillips signs a 2-year, $5 million deal with the Senators.
Senators lose 4-1 to the Flames. Kyle Turris with the only goal. Hemsky travels to Calgary and makes his debut wearing No. 83. Clarke MacArthur gets hurt in the third period.
Thursday, March 6th – Complete day off for the team.
Friday, March 7th – Sens practice at Winsport Canada in Calgary. Practice lasts almost 90 minutes. Only Clarke MacArthur is absent. Jared Cowen and Chris Neil get into a scrap.
Its announced Clarke MacArthur (hand) will not play Saturday and is doubtful for Monday. Craig Anderson will start versus Winnipeg and Jared Cowen will return to the lineup.
Saturday, March 8th – Senators win 5-3 over Winnipeg. Ales Hemsky, Jason Spezza & Milan Michalek all record 3 point games. Mike Hoffman notches his 1st NHL goal and assist. Craig Anderson comes up big in the 3rd period.
Sunday, March 9th – Complete day off for the team.
After an embarrassing effort against the Red Wings, it looked as though the trend would continue into the Heritage Classic for the Ottawa Senators. An early power-play goal, followed by a brutal giveaway by Erik Karlsson, put the Canucks up 2 goals in the opening 12 minutes.
But the Sens responded before the end of the first frame. Clarke MacArthur re-directed an Erik Condra shot by Eddie Lack to close the gap to 1. Then, on a power-play, Karlsson made up for his earlier mistake by sending a seeing-eye shot through a maze in front and it was tied up after 20 minutes.
Ottawa came out flying in the second, dominating most of the play and scoring the go-ahead goal on a rush with a Cody Ceci snapshot. Colin Greening’s empty netter put it to bed and the Senators rallied for a 4-2 win.
An important 2 points and a great start to a road trip that will likely make or break the Sens season. Ottawa must run the board (or come awfully close to it) to keep themselves in the race for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Senators practiced at the Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau Tuesday morning. The stands were filled with a number of students from surrounding schools and were extremely loud with their Sens chants. Missing from the group was Erik Karlsson (Olympics recovery), Chris Neil (maintenance) and Craig Anderson (birth of 2nd child). Here were the lines.
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
MacArthur-Turris-Condra
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
Kassian-Smith-Condra
D-pairings – Cowen-Wiercioch, Phillips-Ceci, Methot-Gryba. (Corvo)
Lehner (extra goaltender)
Not much to report from the 2 practices on Friday & Saturday. Jared Cowen returned to the ice after missing the first 2 back from the break with the flu. Bobby Ryan has been absent for the past 3 sessions due to a nagging injury that requires some maintenance/rest.
According to those in attendance, the focus has been on skating and getting the team’s legs back after the short break.
The Senators hosted an outdoor practice at the Jules Morin Park Thursday morning. Children from nearby schools were invited to watch as the club held their first ever session on a Sens RINK Project ice surface.
Jared Cowen remained out with the flu, while Bobby Ryan did not participate due to maintenance day.
The Senators returned to the ice Wednesday after a nice break due to the Olympics. All were accounted for except for Erik Karlsson (Olympics), Milan Michalek (Olympics) and Jared Cowen (flu). Here were the lines.
Greening-Spezza-Condra
MacArthur-Turris-Ryan
Kassian-Smith-Neil
Conacher-Zibanejad
D-pairings – Methot-Gryba, Ceci-Phillips, Wiercioch-Corvo
Anderson-Lehner
In a game many Senators deemed a “Must Win” and “extremely important,” the group came up with one of its weakest efforts of the season as they were thoroughly dominated in a 7-2 loss to the Bruins.
The Senators held practice at the Canadian Tire Centre Friday afternoon. Chris Phillips skated beforehand in a track suit, but did not participate. Neither did Erik Karlsson, who took a maintenance day, or Stephane Da Costa, who was returned to Binghamton for the Olympic break (or longer). Here were the lines.
Greening-Spezza-Michalek
MacArthur-Turris-Condra
Conacher-Zibanejad-Ryan
Kassian-Smith-Neil
D-pairings – Cowen-Corvo, Ceci-Wiercioch, Methot-Gryba
Anderson-Lehner
Afterwards, Coach MacLean annnounced Craig Anderson as his starting goaltender against the Bruins Saturday afternoon.
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