danielpalfredsson
youtube dot com /watch?v=CdqMZ_s7Y6k
- Aug 14, 2013
- 16,575
- 9,269
SEASON 2 (2017-2018)
MISSED SEASON 1? CLICK HERE TO READ IT!
PAST SEASON 2 EPISODES
1-OFF SEASON PREVIEW
2-2017 NHL ENTRY DRAFT
3-2017 FREE AGENT FRENZY
4-OTTAWA SENATORS 2017 SEASON PREVIEW
The Senators open their season with a lineup that up front remains unchanged from most of what they ran with last season. Dzingel and Stone will still form the second line with Pageau and Lazar competing internally for the 2C spot, while Drouin and Turris will remain as the team's top duo.
The defense also remains unchanged.
The major change to this Senators squad is in net. The Sens have completely overhauled their organizational in net from top to bottom. Major UFA signing Ben Bishop will start, while AHL standout Marcus Hogberg earned himself the backup job. Hogberg being promoted to the NHL resulted in the Senators shipping out Matt O'Connor as well as acquiring Matt Murray to start in Binghamton.
OTTAWA (0-0-0) VS NEW YORK RANGERS (0-0-0)
Despite a heartbreaking game 7 loss to Detroit last season, Senators fans have packed the CTC optimistic as ever. The feeling is electric, this is the Senators home opener.
First period, Bishop faces his first shots as a Senator (again). Lundqvist looks as good as ever despite being a million years old. Both goalies are unbeatable during the first period.
Sens get things going in the second with the first shot of the period. Smith beats Lundqvist, and it is 1-0.
Third period action, Senators cannot capitalize on a powerplay. In a tense period, the Rangers heavily outshoot Ottawa, but in his debut for the Senators, Bishop stands on his head, turning everything away. With a 35 save shutout, Bishop carries the Senators to a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Rangers
OTTAWA (1-0-0) VS TORONTO (0-1-0)
The Maple Leafs took a huge step forward in their rebuild this off season when they signed Tyler Johnson to a massive 6 year deal. William Nylander looks to be getting a shot in Toronto's top 6.
Despite being the better team the last few seasons, the Sens always seem to have trouble against the Maple Leafs. Beating Toronto in the second home game of the season is hugely important to the Senators locker room.
Don't worry, the Senators third string goalie won't be starting this game.....
Toronto outplay Ottawa early. Both teams trade powerplays but aren't able to score. The first period ends 0-0.
In the second period, Ottawa kills a Toronto powerplay. BROOOOOCK NELSON scores the first goal of the game. 1-0 Ottawa going into the third.
Third period action, Karlsson scores a big goal to put Ottawa up 2-0.
Leafs aren't down yet. It took five periods, but Ben Bishop finally allows an NHL goal. Nylander scores a to put the game within one. 2-1 Ottawa.
The Leafs attempt to battle back, but Ben Bishop is too much. In his second straight first star performance, Bishop stands on his head to lead the Senators to a 2-1 victory over Toronto.
OTTAWA (2-0-0) @ FLORIDA (2-0-1)
The Panthers who finished last in the league for two straight seasons are having a strong start to their season. They've opted to keep top prospect Ondrej Haloda in the AHL with Montoya returning as their starter.
Ben Bishop will start his third straight game but we could see Marcus Hogberg in tomorrow night against Columbus.
Jokinen puts the Panthers on the board early, but goals by Pageau, Turris, and Smith quickly put Ottawa up 3-1 early.
Both teams trade powerplay opportunities, and Jokinen scores his second of the evening to put Florida within 1. 3-2 Ottawa.
A late 2nd period Eric Staal goal ties the game 3-3.
In the first minute of the third period, Pageau scores his second of the night to give Ottawa a 4-3 lead. The Senators outshoot Florida throughout the third, and a Turris empty netter seals the deal. Ottawa win 5-3.
Ben Bishop looks human for the first time this season, but the Senators forwards finally break loose and after only managing a combined 3 goals in their first 2 games score 5 against Florida. Pageau has a big 3 point night.
OTTAWA (3-0-0) @ COLUMBUS (1-2-0)
@BruceGarrioch-”Hogberg off the ice first. Looks like he'll get his first start of the season.”
High pressure situation for Hogberg who goes in against a mediocre CBJ team and will attempt to increase the Senators win streak to 4 games.
The Sens go on the powerplay three times in the first ten minutes but cannot score. Finally, on their fourth powerplay attempt of the game, Drouin puts one past Bobrovosky. 1-0 Ottawa.
The Sens kill a powerplay early in the second, and then come back with a Craig Smith powerplay goal to raise their lead to 2-0.
Third period action, Columbus get four straight powerplays to start the third and manage to beat Hogberg for the first time. 2-1 Ottawa.
Max McCormick. He had 16 goals last season, he scores his first of the year tonight. 3-1 Ottawa.
Despite outshooting Ottawa, Columbus cannot score. In a fantastic debut game, Hogberg is the first star with a .968 save percentage. Karlsson has another multi point night.
OTTAWA (4-0-0) @ MINNESOTA (4-1-0)
@IanMendes-”Expect Bishop back in tonight against Minnesota.”
Despite losing near 40 goal scorer Thomas Vanek to New Jersey in free agency, the Wild are having a fantastic start to their season and might be the Senators greatest challenge yet.
First period action, both teams launch 12 shots on goal, but neither can score. 0-0 game.
At the start of the second period, Francis Perron scores his first goal of the season to put Ottawa up 1-0. Craig Smith adds another goal, 2-0 Ottawa going into the third.
In the third period, the Senators continue to dominate. Midway through the third, the Senators are up 4-0 but the wild don't quite. A powerplay goal by Pominville puts the Wild on the board, and then with 5:45 to go in the third Graovac makes the game 4-2.
The Wild pull their goalie with a few minutes left, but they can't even the score. After outshooting Minnesota 37-32, Ottawa win their fifth straight game by a score of 4-2.
10 THOUGHTS
1-Who would have thought that the Senators would start the season as the hottest team in the league at 5-0? There is only one other team left undefeated which is St.Louis who are 4-0. It is quite clear the Sens are being carried thus far by a strong backend and unreal goaltending. Their powerplay stinks, they are middle of the road in GFPG, but on the flipside they have by far the best GAPG @ 1.4, and they have the 9th best PK in the league.
2-The Senators two hottest players are Ben Bishop and Craig Smith. Bishop is second in the league with a .948 save percentage while Smith has 4 goals in 5 games. Thomas Vanek of NJ currently leads the league with 5 goals. The weirdest early stat, Mark Borowiecki has 3 assists in 5 games. He is only 2 assists away from matching the 5 that it took 72 games for him to get last season.
3-Teams have called about upcoming UFA Kyle Turris, but with the Senators looking towards winning the post season, and Turris open to an extension, it would take a massive offer to pry him away from Ottawa. Kyle Turris' profile around the league took a considerable rise when he put up 12 points in the first round series against Detroit.
4-Auston Matthews name continues to populate trade talks. Those close to Edmonton reported that he had a strong off season and showed up to camp considerably stronger than the year before. Production wise, Matthews continues to struggle. He only has 2 points in 5 games. There is lots of pressure for the Oilers to turn around their team and win before the conclusion of McDavid's ELC.
5-OFD Michael Matheson of the Panthers has been the best rookie after the first few games of the season. The 2012 first round pick has 6 points in 7 games. Scherbak of the Canadiens and Petan of the Jets have both had strong starts with 4 goals each in 6 games.
6-There are some strong trade rumours that the Red Wings are considering moving multiple players and re-tool. The loss of Datsyuk has taken a toll on the team. They have immense depth, and apparently there is an order from above management to get something tangible for older players like Zetterberg before they walk or retire.
7-This is a good draft year for bottom end teams looking for centres. Lundestrom, Veleno, Zadina, and Sexsmith are all currently rated in the top 10. Veleno is the biggest name in the draft, but some scouts are claiming that Lundestrom might be the better prospect early on. Goalie Kyle Dumba is ranked #1.
8-The Senators have apparently been scouting 6'6” defender Logan Stanley. Stanley is the fifth ranked defender in the draft and expected to be around in the 20-30 spot that the Senators might expect to occupy.
9-So much for the Leafs taking a step forward in their rebuild. They currently sit last in the league with only 2 points.
10-Ben Bishop might be the second highest paid goalie in the league behind only Henrik Lundqvist, but with his play so far, he has proven that the Senators, a budget team, made a wise move in putting so much money into net. Can he continue this play going forward as the Sens face the Oilers and Capitals both twice in their next five games?
BONUS: PREDICTING OTTAWA'S ROSTER IN 5 SEASONS
Who will bust? Who will make it? Who will be traded? Who will be signed?
FORWARDS
Drouin-Steel-Stone
Perron-Howden-Smith
Lapierre-Pageau-Gagne
McCormick-Yamamoto-Lazar
(Kyle Turris has stated he is willing to sign an extension with the Ottawa Senators this off season. Turris will likely sign a long term extension, but the amount of future talent the Senators have down the middle will force the team's hand and a few years down the line Turris might find himself traded out West in order to make room for the outstanding 1-2 punch of Sam Steel and Brett Howden. The Senators will attempt to keep a consistent core of veteran forwards with Drouin, Stone, Smith, Pageau, Lazar, and McCormick still around.
The Senators are very high on 2017 6th round pick Kailer Yamamoto, but he'll never pan out as a big time scorer but still will find himself playing a few seasons in his mid 20's on the ice for a few minutes a game as the fourth line centre.
Max McCormick will stick around as this team's spirit animal, the new NHL's version of a Chris Neil. Not a fighter, but a working man's player who through maximum effort and smooth skating overachieves in order to carve out a long term career as an NHLer.
Lazar will never quite reach the lofty expectations set for him by Senators fans, but will be kept around for his leadership and solid two way play. Colin White will be long gone by now. Similar to Lazar, he won't pan out, but the Sens might opt to trade him or let him test free agency.
Perron is the Senators can't miss 7th round wonder. He'll carve out a career as an offensive dynamo in the Senators top 6 and in 5 years time he'll be staring down a huge payday as a UFA. This might be his last year as a Senator.
At the age of 24, Senators 20th overall pick in 2017 Jacob Lapierre might not reach the lofty 30 goal powerforward/future Lucic expectations, but he'll at least carve out a solid career as a scary 3rd line forward who is good for 10-15 goals per season. Gagne will be a year away from graduating to the top 6 and will prove that the Senators were right to trade up for him in 2016.)
DEFENDERS
Thomas Chabot-Erik Karlsson
Andreas Englund-Cody Ceci
Russell Stamkos-Jarrett Meyer
Marc Borowiecki
(As a budget team, the Senators will widely rely on their farm system to build a defense. While Meyer and Stamkos will only pan out as role players, the Senators clearly have two future top 4 defenders in Chabot and Englund who'll help shape the future of the team. Phaneuf and Methot will be retired by this point, while Reinhart will explore free agency. A local favourite, Borowiecki will find a way to remain with the team as the 7th defender.)
GOALIES
Dylan Ferguson
Ben Bishop
(In two seasons, current backup Marcus Hogberg's rights get traded in order to allow him a shot to start for another team which is something he'll never get in Ottawa behind Ben Bishop. Drafted 10th overall, Ferguson is the closest thing the Senators have to a surefire goalie of the future. Hogberg's trade will allow Ferguson to graduate to the NHL as Bishop's backup. Then in five years, Bishop will be 36 at this time, and his contract will have ended the previous season. Ottawa opts to keep Bishop around on a short term deal to ease the transition and mentor the 24 year old Ferguson through his first few NHL seasons. )
