Pre-Game Talk: Beware of Lightning in Ottawa, tonight @ 7:00pm

[HSF]

Harpur and Chabot are being brought along nicely I think. Really happy with both of them. White getting a taste, and Chlapik getting one earlier will be good for them. You let the kids just go out there and play a bit and get a feel for the game without pressure on them. White will get more ice time as his fundamental play improves. If he was a star things might be different, but the way this management brings along young players is clearly different than under Murray.

Slow steady growth, nothing handed out, nothing given for free, but good play rewarded and young players sheltered and protected. It's on the job training.

Chlapik and White will be even more hungry next season, and with these call ups, will have a host of things to focus on in the AHL. I have high hopes for both, and am glad that they aren't being relied on to win games of be difference makers at this point. The last thing a rookie needs is this fanbase's hopes pinned on them.

Our player development looks good so far, being patient is definitely hard though.

Yup agreed

I think people forget how young Chabot and white actually are.

Chabot is nicely developing

 

[Alex1234]

If white devellopp into a 75% Patrice Bergeron it would be unbelievable

The guy is soooo good

 

[Jorge Garcia]

Problem with the game, and it's a microcosm of the team all year, and probably last too, is we didn't play 60 mins. We got outshot 20-10 in the 2nd, and didn't register a single shot till the 10 min mark of the third.

It's not that we played somewhat poorly, it's that we played really poorly at times in the game, and most nights that will cost you.

Sens scored immediately after Garry Galley noted that they looked like goners with zero shots in 10 minutes, then took over the game. Fun to watch.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Progress in more ways than one

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Sadly missed this one and forgot to set the PVR. Went out to the movies (Highly recommend Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri btw). Looks like our best players in Anderson, Karlsson and Stone all showed up again. Dzingel is a beauty. I'm down for a bit of a run here if it means we don't trade Hoffman. Would still really like a top 5 pick so maybe we can lock down Zadina or another top prospect.

How did White look?

White looked fine.. played under 8 minutes.. a little more each period. He was responsible defensively .. in all 3 zones. Played with Dumont and Burrows .. He was usually the high man in the Ozone. He did his job with regards to playing on the 4th line.. Got the puck deep didn't try to do too much. In the Dzone he showed good awareness filling the gaps and picking up open men in the slot...Supported well. In the neutral zone he reacted well closing off the puck side and applied pressure on the puck.

He played with Duchene's line replacing Ryan one shift.. He was part of a play that resulted in a good chance for Duchene.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Was in attendance yesterday. Great crowd. Good atmosphere

The system when they play it is extremely boring live

 

[DanyHeatley]

If white devellopp into a 75% Patrice Bergeron it would be unbelievable

The guy is soooo good

he’s a kinder version of michael peca

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Chabot gonna be a number 1 defender in this league.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Apparently. Better than being negative. It’s what I find funny about chatting with fans online. A lot of them have such high expectations for young players. Formenton is going to have 4 twenty goal seasons according to one person. It’s aomost like the bar is set too high for some of these guys.

I had expectations for Meszaros, Cowen, Ceci, Lehner and Lazar and they all fell short. I don’t mean to be negative about any of our prospects right now. Just trying to keep my expectations realistic.

What was it about me saying it think Formenton can be a regular 20 goal guy that triggered you so hard? Was it the comparison with Smith and how much better I think he can be than a 4th line plug? (Guessing you have a Smith jersey in your closet) Wasn't like I said Formenton is going to become a top line guy and carry a line in the NHL on his way to a jersey retirement. Just said he'll be a 2nd line kind of guy who will get loads of quality chances with his speed and will probably score goals regularly. He can finish too. Look at Dzingel and what his speed does for him.

 

[Xspyrit]

This season is going to be hard for many. Sens might miss the playoffs by only a few points so those dreaming of a top-3 pick were just... dreaming

Maybe, maybe they will get a top-10 pick still and not lose it to Colorado as the standings are super tight right now. I mean the Islanders and Pens are currently 10th and 9th for the worst Pts % right now...so it really depends on which teams tank in the second half, but as of right now, Sens are only 3 games under 0.500

Dang Dzingel. Nice.

Not an oil painting, but good game none the less.

We play so much better when we have pace to our game.

Goaltending is way below average and team defense isn't exactly great. When they try to protect a lead, they play terrible. It's not a team built to play the way that Boucher would like to. They could do it last year but the Boucher system in Ottawa was new to everybody, teams didn't adjust. This year, they did.

They should play like it was 0-0 all game and don't look at the score. But of course, it's a bit impossible to do that as you KNOW the score... Boucher should change his approach if he wants to survive in this league, he might be too stubborn though

 

[Langdon Alger]

What was it about me saying it think Formenton can be a regular 20 goal guy that triggered you so hard? Was it the comparison with Smith and how much better I think he can be than a 4th line plug? (Guessing you have a Smith jersey in your closet) Wasn't like I said Formenton is going to become a top line guy and carry a line in the NHL on his way to a jersey retirement. Just said he'll be a 2nd line kind of guy who will get loads of quality chances with his speed and will probably score goals regularly. He can finish too. Look at Dzingel and what his speed does for him.

Expectations are just high that’s all. Saying you think someone can score 20 is one thing, saying he can do it 4 Times is kind of random . I hope you’re right, but I’ve seen lots of people make predictions for young players and they never lived up to it. You’ve probably watched Formenton more than I have up to this point.

As for Smith, I’m not really a fan, just think he’s better than you’re giving him credit for. He’s a third line guy in my mind, but I wouldn’t care if he’s dealt. If we can get something of value for him, I’d probably do it.

 

[Cosmix]

lol, where was this team in December?

On National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation!

 

[Cosmix]

Smith took one to the back of the head earlier in the period near the Tampa bench when he was engaged with someone else. He probably took a number but wasn't as sneaky about it and got caught.

That shot to the back of Smith’s Head was taken by Hedman. I cannot understand why the refs let that go without a penalty.

 

[Alex1234]

That shot to the back of Smith’s Head was taken by Hedman. I cannot understand why the refs let that go without a penalty.

Refs were idiots last night

 

[DylanSensFan]

Chabot gonna be a number 1 defender in this league.

I was thinking about this today. I thought to myself a few weeks ago that it would be better to put Chabot and Karlsson on different lines, but the more I see them together the more I realize that they compliment each other so well. Chabot is a smooth skating, relaxed defender who always seems to make the right decision. He and Karlsson have some ridiculous chemistry. I actually believe they should continue to play together.

 

[Karl Prime]

I was thinking about this today. I thought to myself a few weeks ago that it would be better to put Chabot and Karlsson on different lines, but the more I see them together the more I realize that they compliment each other so well. Chabot is a smooth skating, relaxed defender who always seems to make the right decision. He and Karlsson have some ridiculous chemistry. I actually believe they should continue to play together.

I think they're fine together right now. Once Karlsson finally gets used to having a partner he can pass to for a breakout, or pass to at the offensive blue line, they'll be scary.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Yup agreed

I think people forget how young Chabot and white actually are.

Chabot is nicely developing

I think it's the opposite. People forget how long these guys have been developing, that in Chabot's case he is a blue chipper and it really isn't uncommon for prospects of Chabot's calibre to make a big impact.

Dorion was raving that White was NHL ready at the start of the 2016-17 season. Last year prior to our playoff run, Dorion was combing the NHL rulebooks to find a way to call Chabot up from the QMJHL when our defense had injuries. This was in spite of having a veteran NHLer in Jokipakka sitting on the sidelines.

I'm sure Chabot has learned something sitting in the AHL, but the Chabot we see playing right now, its not like he's grown leaps and bounds since the start of the season. This is pretty much the same guy that was available to us on day 1 of the season, but he didn't play because the coach has a phobia of young players.

Both players are ready, and while they wouldn't have saved our season, they would have given us better chances to win games earlier on if they were in the lineup at certain points when they weren't.

 

[Korpse]

I'm sure Chabot has learned something sitting in the AHL, but the Chabot we see playing right now, its not like he's grown leaps and bounds since the start of the season. This is pretty much the same guy that was available to us on day 1 of the season, but he didn't play because the coach has a phobia of young players.

I'm not so sure about that. Definitely not the player I watched regularly in Belleville during the month of October. Especially in those two games to open up the season vs Laval, he was really rough around the edges. 100% a different player. I don't doubt he would have made the same progression if he had stayed with the bug club from the start but I think its wrong to say he would have looked like this from day 1. The consistency is starting to come with him.

 

[JungleBeat]

Agreed with Danielpalfredsson.

Chabot looked more refined vs Tampa and that’s probably has to do with getting more minutes. Playing 10 minutes a night with long stretches between shifts are the worst.

 

[SAK11]

If white devellopp into a 75% Patrice Bergeron it would be unbelievable

The guy is soooo good

75% of Bergeron's production is something like 18 goals and 46 points per 82 games. Seems reasonable.

 

[Countdown0]

On the one hand, I'm happy to see the Sens show some competitiveness in beating the best team in the league. On the other hand, I feel conflicted because these wins might cost us a high end draft pick in a season where we aren't likely to make the playoffs unless we go on a Hamburgler-esque tear. At the end of the day, I'm always happy to see them win, but this effort was needed ten games ago.

Hopefully Hoffman and Duchene keep being allowed to play together, and Deezy stays hot for us.

Also, am I the only one who thinks that the red Winter Classic jerseys look better than our standard home jerseys. Seriously, can we just make the Winter Classic our go-to home jersey, keep the black O jersey as our alternate, and use the Heritage Classic white from when we played Vancouver for games on the road?! I get that people make the O=zero for zero cups, but idgaf, those jerseys look so much better than our current standard home/away.

 

[BondraTime]

Chabot being this good has very, very little to do with the AHL.

He was the exact same player at the start of the year, only now he isn't being treated like a pylon due to his age.

He should have been playing from the start, really never understood that, especially after he looked just as good at training camp.

A step in the right direction with regards to Boucher though.

 

[HavlatMach9]

Also, am I the only one who thinks that the red Winter Classic jerseys look better than our standard home jerseys.

It's clear the Sens feel the same way. Just clearing some hurdles until official introduction I think some have guessed.

 

[Alex1234]

75% of Bergeron's production is something like 18 goals and 46 points per 82 games. Seems reasonable.

And Bergy is so much more then points production but yeah

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

You’re basing the teams marketing on whether people know that they exist or not? If that was the goal why do people spend so much money on marketing. Seems easy to me

The claim was made that "Tampa Bay does better at marketing the Lightning than Ottawa does the Senators"

I knew right away that the person who posted this, had absolutely no way of proving this............ so I asked for proof.