Ottawa Senators

Erik Karlsson has been taking the NHL by storm. At just 21 years of age, he has shown that he has all of the skills needed to be a top-tier defenceman in this league.

Through the first 40 games of the season, Karlsson has collected 37 points—tops in the NHL by six points (Brian Campbell is second with 31 points)—and has shown to be durable, playing over 25 minutes per game—good for 10th in the league.

One of the statistics that could hamper Karlsson’s Norris Trophy hope is his plus-minus. Although he remains in the positive at plus-one, other defencemen have better numbers, such as Shea Weber, who is third in points and is plus-14. Moreover, Weber has five power-play goals to Karlsson’s one.

It is evident that Karlsson needs to fine-tune his defensive play, as is the case with many young defencemen, but he has definitely improved as the season has progressed. If he continues to improve and maintains a huge lead in points, who can say he isn’t a leading candidate for the Norris?

As of now, it looks as if the Norris is Karlsson’s to lose, but this is only the first half of the season. There is still much hockey to be played. Don't get carried away, Senator fans.

Karlsson is one of the emerging defencemen in the game today, and as I discussed with a friend of mine, his value is at its peak right now.

What could the Sens get for him if they traded him today? The package would be absolutely ridiculous.

Just a thought.

Hope everyone had a great holiday.

Get at me on twitter @the__ste (Double Underscore)

Jason Spezza is having a solid season in 2011-2012. He has 32 points in 32 games and has been one of the top vote-getters in the All-Star game. Being in the top 10 in the NHL in scoring is a solid feat. Spezza has shown that he can compete and be a front-line center.

With his value so high, should the Sens consider moving the dynamic centreman?

I personally think that the Senators would be wise to trade Jason Spezza. He is still relatively young at 28 years old and could fetch a great price at the trade deadline or before.

Let's be real here, the Senators will not be ready to compete in the Eastern Conference for another year or two, at least. At that point, Spezza would be a little older and his value wouldn’t be as high on the trade market. Many teams would ship out a great package of young NHL-ready talent, prospects and draft picks to acquire such an offensive force.

If the Senators were able to cash in with these prospects and draft picks—coupled with some great young talent of their own—they could be in an excellent position in a year or two.

Moreover, with the departure of Spezza, some younger players on the Sens would get some first line duty and some excellent power-play time. Guys like Nick Foligno and Zack Smith would get extra chances to improve their point totals and gain some confidence. They could follow a path similar to Ryan Callahan in New York.

It doesn’t hurt to at least look and see what his value is. I personally don’t think the Sens will challenge for a playoff spot and they will be sellers at the deadline. Why not trade Spezza while his stock is so high?

Today the hockey world was shaken up again when news broke that Jeff Skinner and Joni Pitkanen of the Carolina Hurricanes were going to be sidelined due to concussions. However, lightning has struck again and Milan Michalek of the Ottawa Senators becomes the latest superstar to be sidelined with a concussion.

The event in question occurred when the Ottawa Senators squared off against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday. Michalek had made accidental contact with his teammate Erik Karlsson and left the game.

USA Today once again reported that Michalek had indeed suffered a concussion

One day after points leader Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers was proclaimed out indefinitely, Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean told reporters Wednesday that Milan Michalek has a concussion

Michalek had scored his league-best 19th goal in the 3-2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres but was involved in a collision with Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson and left the game.

MacLean said that Michalek was day-to-day. He'll have to follow the concussion protocol and be symptom-free in each stage of his recovery.

"It seems like he felt way better today, so we'll where it goes," MacLean said.

Most of these concussions have resulted from accidental contact between teammates, but the league really needs to do something. Possible options include lightening up the current bulky equipment, reinforcing padding and strength of helmets or doing a full study on player safety in general.

There is no clear-cut answer or solution to this problem, but this has been one of the most injury-ridden seasons in recent memory.

Each concussion has been very unfortunate due to the importance of each player to their respective team. This story is in its earliest stages, so check back to the NHL page at Bleacher Report for the latest updates and alerts.

Hopefully, this trend subsides soon because the league needs all of its players healthy.

Tom Urtz is an NHL Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

As I mentioned in my earlier piece, I believe that this stretch of games before the Christmas break will be a defining moment in the Ottawa Senators' season.

I attempted to predict the result of their remaining games before Christmas and this is what I recorded:

Dec. 7: Washington vs. Ottawa

Predicted Outcome: WASH 3, OTT 1.  Washington rides the power play to a victory.  

Actual Outcome: WASH 5, OTT 3 (Still a two-goal win)

Dec. 8: Ottawa vs. New Jersey

Predicted Outcome: NJD 3, OTT 2 (OT).  Tough late loss for the Sens on a tough back-to-back. 

Actual Outcome: NJD 5 OTT 4 (OT)

Dec. 10: Canucks vs. Ottawa

Predicted Outcome: VAN 5, OTT 2.  Ryan Kesler and Alexander Edler strike fire in the first, leading to an easy win.  

Actual Outcome: VAN 4, OTT 1 (Kesler two goals)

If I may say so myself, those are some solid predictions.  For tonight’s game I predict the Sens will bounce back and end their losing streak, beating the Sabres on the back of their goaltender.

Dec. 13: Ottawa vs. Buffalo

Predicted Outcome: OTT 3, BUF 2.  Sens end losing skid in a hard-fought, close matchup.   

Actual Outcome: OTT 3, BUF 2

But what is making the Sens struggle during these games?

Well, the schedule hasn’t necessarily been very nice to them in the run-up to the holidays.  They play three games this week against two of the top teams in the league (Boston and Pittsburgh), and the Sabres tonight. 

But the schedule cannot be used as an excuse.  Allowing 13 goals through the last three games isn’t going to help the Sens win. 

They need some new blood on the power play, and switching up some defensive pairings might not hurt either.

In case anyone is curious, here are the rest of my predictions for the rest of their pre-Christmas games.  Hopefully, the Sens go on a bit of a winning streak as I predict.

Dec. 14: Boston vs. Ottawa

Predicted Outcome: BOS 4, OTT 0.  Sens look slow after a tough win in Buffalo the night prior.   

Actual Outcome:  BOS 5, OTT 2

Dec. 16: Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa

Predicted Outcome: OTT 6, PITT 5.  Ottawa wins a shootout late. 

Dec. 20: Buffalo vs. Ottawa

Predicted Outcome: BUF 3, OTT 1.  Sabres avenge loss from a week ago with a tight defensive effort. 

Dec. 22: Florida vs. Ottawa

Predicted Outcome: OTT 4, FLA 2.  Sens show a strong offensive game, overwhelming the young Panthers. 

Dec. 23: Ottawa vs. Carolina

Predicted Outcome: OTT 3, CAR 1.  Sens get an early Christmas gift, winning in ‘Lina. 

UPDATE: Sens win 3-2 over Buffalo as predicted.

UPDATE: Sens lose by more than 2 against Boston.

Happy Holidays to all!

Ottawa Senators forward Nikita Filatov is going to Russia to finish the season with CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League.

The former sixth overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2008 was unable to maintain a spot as a top-six forward for the Senators this season.

Filatov is still only 21 years young, and could definitely be a late bloomer for a team willing to give him consistent playing time. 

As I mentioned here, I thought the Senators were the perfect fit for Filatov; they would give him time to acclimate himself to the organization and, essentially, the NHL.

According to TSN.ca, Senators general manager Bryan Murray said, "After a fair amount of discussion with him, we had to determine whether to move him back to Binghamton, or go over to play in the KHL … his preference was to go home for the balance of the year, so we made an agreement with them to have that happen."

Sometimes a player just needs some home cooking. 

FIlatov, who was born in Moscow, will be heading home to try to rejuvenate his hockey career. 

This was a good move by Murray, giving Filatov the ability to go back to where his hockey life began and revive it anew.

Hopefully, Filatov can return to the Sens next season with revived confidence and help provide an influx of young skill, especially if Daniel Alfredsson or Jason Spezza are gone by then.

The Ottawa Senators have many players that could play in the All-Star Game at home in Ottawa. The home fans would love to greet their all-stars to a warm applause.

The fan balloting will help choose three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie to play in the All-Star Game. As the votes sit right now, Erik Karlsson leads all defensemen with 351,957 votes. Dion Phaneuf is in second with 324,031 and then there is a large gap with Kris Letang in third with 277,094.

As it stands, it seems Karlsson will most likely be one of the two defencemen chosen by the fans and that should be an excellent reward to his early season’s achievements on the ice.

In regards to the forwards, all three of Milan Michalek, Daneil Alfredsson and Jason Spezza all have a shot at being chosen as one of the three fan favourites. The top six are as follows: 

1. Phil Kessel 384,029
2. Sidney Crosby 320,865
3. Daniel Alfredsson 320,100
4. Jason Spezza 287,717
5. Joffrey Lupul 263,863
6. Milan Michalek 261,462

It seems Senators fans have come out in bunches to vote for their hometown fans as they want to see them in the All-Star game. There is no legitimate reason that Alfredsson should have more votes than Daniel Sedin, Claude Giroux and Jonathan Toews as these three are second and tied for third respectively in scoring while Alfie has 14 points in 21 games.

Either way, I think many believe that it would be an excellent way swan song for Alfie in the All-Star game as he plays his final one in Ottawa.

Who do I think will make the All-Star team?

Well I think Alfie will hold onto the final forward spot and be a fan choice. Karlsson will clearly make the team as a fan favourite. Now I doubt that Michalek will make the team. Yes, he is one goal shy of the league lead, but he only has six assists which will hurt his chances. Spezza might get lucky and get a hometown discount choice by coaches, but there are many other great centres that could play in his stead.

Tough luck Michalek. Try and grab that Rocket Richard trophy and prove everyone wrong!

The Ottawa Senators have a brutal schedule up until Christmas. During that span, the Senators play the pesky Capitals, the Canucks, each Eastern Conference division leader, the Sabres twice and the Devils.

Although there is a very important home stretch of four games in there, (Bruins, Penguins, Sabres and Panthers) these are all very tough tasks for the young Senators. If they come out of this stretch hovering around .500, then have a real shot at the playoffs and are not just a team that got off to a good start.

This stretch will help prove whether the 2011 Sens resemble either the Buffalo Bills of 2011 or the New York Jets. The former started out hot, just to fade as many predicted, whereas the latter remained consistently "good enough."

So what do we expect to happen?

Here is my breakdown of what will happen in these nine games before Christmas.

December 7th: Washington @ Ottawa

Outcome: Washington rides the power play to a victory. WASH 3 OTT 1

December 8th: Ottawa @ New Jersey

Outcome: Tough late loss for the Sens on a tough back-to-back. NJD 3 OTT 2 (OT)

December 10th: Canucks @ Ottawa

Outcome: Ryan Kesler and Alexander Edler strike fire in the first, leading to an easy win. VAN 5 OTT 2

December 13th: Ottawa @ Buffalo

Outcome: Sens end losing skid in a hard-fought, close matchup. OTT 3 BUF 2

December 14th: Boston @ Ottawa

Outcome: Sens look slow after tough win in Buffalo the night prior. BOS 4 OTT 0

December 16th: Pittsburgh @ Ottawa

Outcome: Ottawa wins a shootout late. OTT 6 PITT 5

December 20th: Buffalo @ Ottawa

Outcome: Sabres avenge loss from a week ago with a tight defensive effort. BUF 3 OTT 1

December 22nd: Florida @ Ottawa

Outcome: Sens show a strong offensive game, overwhelm young Panthers. OTT 4 FLA 2

December 23rd: Ottawa @ Carolina

Outcome: Sens get an early Christmas gift and win in ‘Lina. OTT 3 CAR 1

Result: 5-4*

* I see this as a best-case scenario as giving them victories over both the Sabres and Pens would be tough to achieve.

At the end of the day, this stretch will definitely validate their early success this season or show it to be nothing but a mirage.

As I have mentioned in previous pieces, I expected Milan Michalek to have a big year. However, I did not expect the Senators to have the record they do at this point in the season. 

The Senators currently sit in the last remaining playoff spot (No. 8 in the conference) at a record of 12-11-2. They have remained near .500 over their last 10 games (5-4-1) and have shown that they can win the close scrappy games. 

Over their past seven games, the Sens have averaged 3.7 goals per game, which is a great mark. The scoring has not been an issue of late, but their defence has been. 

This is one of the areas that the Senators were expected to struggle with at the beginning of the season. They have given up 10 goals in their past three games. This month they have given up an average of more than 3.4 goals per game. Once their streaky scoring dries up, as is the case with every team, their defence won’t keep them in games. 

So, do the Senators have a shot at the playoffs? 

Simply put, NO they do not. 

If you look at the teams behind them in the standings, mainly Washington, Montreal and Tampa, you cannot expect that those three will not make the playoffs. As a result, someone needs to get bumped out of their current playoff spot, and that would definitely be the Sens. 

I will personally guarantee that one of those three teams make the playoffs and would bet that two make it. Other than maybe Florida to get eclipsed by Tampa or Washington, I can’t see any other team losing their playoff spot, save maybe the Leafs.

Moreover, the Sens play in a tough division consisting of Toronto, Boston, Montreal and Buffalo—all current playoff teams except les Canadiens, who are one point back of Ottawa—thus making wins tough to come by.

Enjoy the ride of .500 play while it lasts, because these goals with start to drop…and fast.

NHLPA.com

Need to Know

The Northeast Division, it can be argued, is one of the most interesting stories of the 2011-12 season.

The Boston Bruins are the defending champs, the Buffalo Sabres added some significant players to their lineup in the summer, the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to grow and improve and the Montreal Canadiens are always a tough two points. That leaves the Ottawa Senators, a team that has not performed as well as they probably would have liked over the past few seasons.

One player that is working to change those fortunes in Canada’s capital is dynamic forward Milan Michalek, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the 2009 trade that saw Dany Heatley dealt from Ottawa. The speedy Czech winger is a multi-talented piece of the puzzle in Ottawa, a player that is taking the offensive lead—together with linemate Jason Spezza—for the youthful Senators early in the 2011-12 season.

So far, Milan and the Sens have experienced some ups and downs, but they are making some noise in the unpredictable Northeast Division, and Michalek is helping lead the way on the stat sheet. With faceoff specialist and assist machine Spezza dishing to Milan, he is making the most of his chances, drawing the attention of the opposition’s top players and making life easier for the rest of the young Sens forwards.

Milan has been hot this past week, recording three points over the past three games (all Sens wins), giving him 12 goals and six assists for 18 points in 20 games. He is on pace so far this season to set career highs in both goals and points.

With Ottawa hosting the 2012 NHL All-Star Game, Milan will be looking to keep up his strong play so he can earn the chance to represent the Senators and the Eastern Conference at Scotiabank Place in January.

Biography

- Born in Jindrichuv Hradec, Czech Republic on December 7, 1984

- Drafted in the first round, sixth overall, in the 2003 NHL entry draft by the San Jose Sharks

- Milan has battled back from a significant knee injury, which he rehabbed and strengthened during the 2004-05 NHL lockout

- His brother, Zbynek, also plays in the NHL as a defenceman for the Pittsburgh Penguins

- Has represented Czech Republic on the international stage, including the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, and the 2011 IIHF World Championships, where he captured a bronze medal

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