Starting lineup regular season

[Sensinitis]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1843314964683260051

Giroux is missing practice with the new baby


Edit: This suggests Cousins drops down when giroux is back and pushes macEwen out,

Makes sense. MacEwen should only be playing in case of injuries. Gregor, Ostapchuk and Cousins are all noticeably better.

 

[bicboi64]

Cousins with Stu? Watch him unlock a new offensive gear and the pest becomes a goal scoring threat

 

[DackellDuck]

Last year goal pace in brackets:

Tkachuk (37) - Stutzle (18 - 41 2yrs ago) - Giroux (21)
Greig (15 as a rookie) - Norris (26) - Batherson (28)
Perron (18) - Pinto (18) - Amadio (16)
Gregor (8) - Ostapchuk (0) - Cousins (8)


So, is Stutzle a 40 goal guy or 20, is Norris a 25g guy or 35, is Greig going to improve in year two, can Pinto move up?

You also have to consider that we're not going to be playing the same free-wheeling style, though, under Green.

After Stützle and Batherson, there aren't a ton of guys who I would call "creative" at 5v5.

For offense, the PP will have to be humming. That's where we could make up some hay.

If the PP gets back to what it was in 21/22 (24.1% - 8th in the league) and we clean up our own end at 5v5, we'll be in the wildcard mix.

 

[NyQuil]

You also have to consider that we're not going to be playing the same free-wheeling style, though, under Green.

After Stützle and Batherson, there aren't a ton of guys who I would call "creative" at 5v5.

For offense, the PP will have to be humming. That's where we could make up some hay.

If the PP gets back to what it was in 21/22 (24.1% - 8th in the league) and we clean up our own end at 5v5, we'll be in the wildcard mix.

Giroux can be, but he’s getting up there.

 

[Norris4Norris]

A nicely balance lineup that’s a lot more complete than in years past.

With that said, looking at those lines, I don’t think goals are going to come all that easy, so we need to get a lot more comfortable trying to win 3-2 or 2-1, and Ullmark needs to be very good.

I think if Norris stays healthy all year we have a good shot at the playoffs.

Pinto looked SO good with that hat-trick. He is a good 2-way player, he has that knack to takeaways pucks. If he and Greig take another step forward I think this team might be pesky again.

But Ullmark is the ultimate X-factor. Even a .900 save percentage last year would have put the Sens in a race for the playoffs.

Ullmark has averaged .915 or better since 2019-2020. Albeit he was playing behind a well structured Boston defense.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1843315599109464450

Cousins in for Giroux (baby) today

 

[HSF]

Garrioch speculates that the Sens may be looking at a depth LD on waivers.

Tyler Tucker could fit the bill. Blues fans seem to like him but they want to make room for a younger player.

Big shot, physical, can fight… but not a great skater.

Isaak Philips another potential option

 

[GCK]

So Gaudette made the team and Ostapchuk goes to Belleville

 

[DylanSensFan]

You also have to consider that we're not going to be playing the same free-wheeling style, though, under Green.

After Stützle and Batherson, there aren't a ton of guys who I would call "creative" at 5v5.

For offense, the PP will have to be humming. That's where we could make up some hay.

If the PP gets back to what it was in 21/22 (24.1% - 8th in the league) and we clean up our own end at 5v5, we'll be in the wildcard mix.

Our secondary scoring is a lot better than it was last year. I would say we will score a surprising amount 5v5. But yes, we'll also need a good PP.

 

[aragorn]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1843315599109464450

Cousins in for Giroux (baby) today

Greig with Norris & Batherson will be interesting, Greig is a very skilled offensive player who could take a big step forward as an offensive threat this yr. I expect if Batherson & Norris stay healthy that this line could easily take off. Also like two vets with Pinto, Perron is still a god offensive threat & Amadio can also make plays & score, hopefully Pinto has a great yr too. Ott should have a very good top 9 this yr. Cousins is a versatile player who can play up & down the lineup in different positions as & when required.

 

[Hale The Villain]

 

[Wallet Inspector]

That's good, we need Ostapchuk to develop his offense in the AHL.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I did not see that coming. I guess Cousins is 4th line center then?

 

[DackellDuck]

I did not see that coming. I guess Cousins is 4th line center then?

Green said Gaudette will play C - so it'll be Gregor - Gaudette - Cousins.

I suppose it's not surprising that at the end of the day, Gaudette stays up and we have a veteran 4th line. We need to get off to a good start, so play it safe.

Last year for game 1, our 4th line was Kelly - Kastelic with a combined 178 games of NHL experience (we could only ice 11 forwards because we didn't have cap space!).

This year for game 1, our 4th line will have a combined 1053 games of NHL experience.

 

[aragorn]

It's interesting that the Sens Brass see Greig as a potential 2nd line player with offensive upside that can bring some grit to the top six. They need Batherson to play with more grit too, he is a big guy & a decent fighter for an offensive player although I don't want to see him drop the gloves too often. I also expect Pinto to have a big yr, having two good vets & Perron a sniper on his line should help him improve his stats from last half yr.

If Norris can stay healthy he too should help elevate Ottawa's offensive stats in general & make the team much better. I expect at some point Ostapchuk will be back up, he is very close to being NHL ready & does all of the things coaches love especially defensively & they don't need him to score just yet.

 

[DackellDuck]

This was the lineup for game 1 last year:

https://x.com/i/web/status/1711754807147372900

I think we're in better shape now...

 

[DrEasy]

I wonder if Gaudette will play some PP for us as well.

Who do you guys think will be the forwards on the PK? Gregor, Stu, Giroux, Norris? Or Greig?

 

[bicboi64]

I wonder if Gaudette will play some PP for us as well.

Who do you guys think will be the forwards on the PK? Gregor, Stu, Giroux, Norris? Or Greig?

I figure Gregor and Giroux on the first unit, mainly because Giroux is a face off beast. Greig with Norris/Stu will probably be 2nd unit but I'd give the edge to Norris unless Stu's faceoff skills improve

 

[Alf Silfversson]

This was the lineup for game 1 last year:

https://x.com/i/web/status/1711754807147372900

I think we're in better shape now...

I think so too.

But you know who is in WAY better shape than last year? Vlad Tarasenko. Poor F'N guy playing with Chartier and Kubalik. LOL. He must have run over DJ Smith's dog or something.

 

[armani]

Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux
Greig-Norris-Batherson
Perron*-Pinto-Amadio
Gregor-Gaudette-Cousins
MacEwen

Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Jensen
Kleven-Hamonic
JBD

Ullmark
Forsberg

*Perron can switch on the fly with Greig or Gregor as needed since he has missed camp/getting back from injury but I find him effective as a top-6 guy while Greig is versatile (Line 1 to Line 4 player). There are plenty of powerplay options between lines 1 and 3. This is a competitive team with the addition of Ullmark and all the changes Staios made. Playoffs? If they stay relatively healthy, I think FINALLY YES!

 

[SpezDispenser]

Finally, a decent starting lineup

 

[Cosmix]

So Gaudette made the team and Ostapchuk goes to Belleville

I thought it was the opposite.

 

[Cosmix]

So Gaudette made the team and Ostapchuk goes to Belleville

Saw the announcement today that Ostapchuk is going to Belleville. I think that is the right move for his development. I thought Yakemchuk would get a few games but he is back to Junior.

 

[Micklebot]

So Gaudette made the team and Ostapchuk goes to Belleville

Interesting that they waived Gaudette only to keep him up. Seems like they aren't quite sure about him, but don't want to lose him, so waive him now when he's unlikely to get claimed rather than lose him in a month if they choose to send him down.

 

[LiseL]

It's interesting that the Sens Brass see Greig as a potential 2nd line player with offensive upside that can bring some grit to the top six. They need Batherson to play with more grit too, he is a big guy & a decent fighter for an offensive player although I don't want to see him drop the gloves too often. I also expect Pinto to have a big yr, having two good vets & Perron a sniper on his line should help him improve his stats from last half yr.

If Norris can stay healthy he too should help elevate Ottawa's offensive stats in general & make the team much better. I expect at some point Ostapchuk will be back up, he is very close to being NHL ready & does all of the things coaches love especially defensively & they don't need him to score just yet.

What I really like is that we have a pest on each line. Brady is definitely 1st, Cousins 4th. For me, Greig and Perron are interchangable between 2nd and 3rd line, depending on who's going on any particular night. I do hope that the lines stay in place for a period of time to let the players gel and get used to each other's tendencies. Overall, I think it's well balanced.