Jared Crozier: Sens Use Strong Second To Stave Of Preds 3-2

First!!

Nice write-up Jared. Only comment is that Ceci didn't score but instead it was Chiasson.

Just imagine how good we could be if we could actually get three consistent periods plus our goaltending rolling? Hope springs eternal.

i thought Boro looked really good last night too. very poised, throwing the body around, seemed to make the right plays at hte right times.

i though phillips/karlsson were a friggin gong show in their own zone. it seems as cowen gets better and better, phillips is getting worse and worse.

is turris starting to get a little "condra" in him.....guy seems to have 3-4 GLORIOUS chances each game, but only has a couple of goals on the season to show for it.

mika looked good with the kids on his line, they seemed to get lots of chances all night.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MACLEAN....

macarthur - turris - ryan
hoffman - zibby - stone

i don't know why this isn't happening

Greening was okay, played a good physical game.

Turris and MacArthur are playing great but way too cute when they get a scoring chance. Shoot the puck.

Hoffman and Stone clearly missed Lazar.

But, still seeing the attempted soft clear out of their own zone that gets intercepted. Put the puck hard off the boards and out when in doubt.

They should have put the game away in the second period. Looked a lot like the Edmonton game. They are not a fun team to watch when nursing a small lead.

Greening was okay, played a good physical game.

Turris and MacArthur are playing great but way too cute when they get a scoring chance. Shoot the puck.

Hoffman and Stone clearly missed Lazar.

But, still seeing the attempted soft clear out of their own zone that gets intercepted. Put the puck hard off the boards and out when in doubt.

They should have put the game away in the second period. Looked a lot like the Edmonton game. They are not a fun team to watch when nursing a small lead.
- spatso

how do you figure? That line looked great, and they had a ton of scoring chances. i like zibby on that line more than lazar at this point.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MACLEAN....

macarthur - turris - ryan
hoffman - zibby - stone

i don't know why this isn't happening
- sensarmy_11

- Fjodor

not really sure why you're rolling your eyes.....they looked really good last night. that's probably the top six group that gives ottawa the best chance to score goals.

best forward lines this team can put together IMO

mac - turris - ryan
hoff - zibby - stone
michalek - legwand - chiasson
lazar - smith - condra

neil/greening

But, still seeing the attempted soft clear out of their own zone that gets intercepted. Put the puck hard off the boards and out when in doubt.

They should have put the game away in the second period. Looked a lot like the Edmonton game. They are not a fun team to watch when nursing a small lead.
- spatso

Yep. I guess you have a real problem when you need Neil and Phillips to be go-to-guys. That's not going to be the case very often.

how do you figure? That line looked great, and they had a ton of scoring chances. i like zibby on that line more than lazar at this point.
- sensarmy_11

Lazar goes hard to the net and creates time and space in the attack zone. Zibanejad was okay but he does not have Lazar's offensive instincts or his two way game. Not negative about Zibanejad at all.

Lazar goes hard to the net and creates time and space in the attack zone. Zibanejad was okay but he does not have Lazar's offensive instincts or his two way game. Not negative about Zibanejad at all.
- spatso

lazar has been playing incredibly sheltered minutes compared to zibby.

i love lazar, i think he's gonna be great.......he is ABSOLUTELY not ready for top six minutes. Stone and Hoffman are.

lazar has looked okay....but for the most part, he's been looking good by riding the coat tails ( so to speak ) of hoffman and stone. The line with zibby last night looked just as dangerous, and they played much harder minutes.

not really sure why you're rolling your eyes.....they looked really good last night. that's probably the top six group that gives ottawa the best chance to score goals.

best forward lines this team can put together IMO

mac - turris - ryan
hoff - zibby - stone
michalek - legwand - chiasson
lazar - smith - condra

neil/greening
- sensarmy_11

lazar replaces legwand, legwand/smith interchangeable on that 4th line... then maybe I might buy what you are selling. Right now though, seems ridiculous to shift lazar to 4th line with smith and condra after having so much success with hoff and stone.

Karlsson rushed the puck in fantastic ways last night.

not really sure why you're rolling your eyes.....they looked really good last night. that's probably the top six group that gives ottawa the best chance to score goals.

best forward lines this team can put together IMO

mac - turris - ryan
hoff - zibby - stone
michalek - legwand - chiasson
lazar - smith - condra

neil/greening
- sensarmy_11

Oh, I thought you meant that MacLean was an idiot for not trying them out. They had some chemistry no doubt, but Kid line has been one of the things actually working out above expectations so far. Tough for coaches to tinkle with that if they don't have to (like yesterday).

lazar replaces legwand, legwand/smith interchangeable on that 4th line... then maybe I might buy what you are selling. Right now though, seems ridiculous to shift lazar to 4th line with smith and condra after having so much success with hoff and stone.
- drobber

i think hoff and stone should be playing top six minutes, and lazar isn't ready to do that.

if you want him to play center, then swap him and smith or him and legwand..........but the point stands that he shouldn't be in teh top six, and hoff and stone should.

Oh, I thought you meant that MacLean was an idiot for not trying them out. They had some chemistry no doubt, but Kid line has been one of the things actually working out above expectations so far. Tough for coaches to tinkle with that if they don't have to (like yesterday).
- Fjodor

they've been working out because they've been playing as a 4th line, getting only OZ starts against weak competition.

last night they played as a "2nd line", getting some DZ starts and playing tougher competition.

i think lazar still needs to be sheltered like that........but if you want stone and hoffman to develop into legit top six wingers, they need to play harder minutes. they can do that with zibby, they won't with lazar (he's not ready)

they've been working out because they've been playing as a 4th line, getting only OZ starts against weak competition.

last night they played as a "2nd line", getting some DZ starts and playing tougher competition.

i think lazar still needs to be sheltered like that........but if you want stone and hoffman to develop into legit top six wingers, they need to play harder minutes. they can do that with zibby, they won't with lazar (he's not ready)
- sensarmy_11

I sort of agree, but I'm a little worried about Stone and Hoffman getting thrown into that role way too early. They have yet to reach 50 NHL games, and should be sheltered at this point. We don't want them to develop into some kind of grinder checking line, right?

But as I said, I'm 50/50. If MacLean pursues that option, I won't female dog about it.

they've been working out because they've been playing as a 4th line, getting only OZ starts against weak competition.

last night they played as a "2nd line", getting some DZ starts and playing tougher competition.

i think lazar still needs to be sheltered like that........but if you want stone and hoffman to develop into legit top six wingers, they need to play harder minutes. they can do that with zibby, they won't with lazar (he's not ready)
- sensarmy_11

I think that is wrong. Lazar is a very good center. He plays a very good 200' game. He kills penalties. I like playing Lazar, Hoffman and Stone as a third line. They get as many minutes as playing second line but are a little sheltered.

not really sure why you're rolling your eyes.....they looked really good last night. that's probably the top six group that gives ottawa the best chance to score goals.

best forward lines this team can put together IMO

mac - turris - ryan
hoff - zibby - stone
michalek - legwand - chiasson
lazar - smith - condra

neil/greening
- sensarmy_11

It's pretty clear at this point that this is the best way to line up the players we have. However, I'd switch Lazar and Condra. Condra is equally effective on both sides, and Lazar prefers the right side. Smith is also left handed if that makes any difference.

Mika looked good with Hoff and Stone. Chiasson, although he scored, should obviously be replaced by Ryan. Greening was himself and the Legwand line was pretty ineffective. Milo and Smith dragged Chris Neil around ok.

Great write up by Jared. Hit all the points. Good job!

At times the Sens looked great last night. That 10 minutes in the 2nd was obviously pretty dominant. The Predators are absolutely stifling in the neutral zone and their forecheck is incredible. Sens got some bounces and good tending, and I think they stole another 2 points they may not have deserved.

Lazar goes hard to the net and creates time and space in the attack zone. Zibanejad was okay but he does not have Lazar's offensive instincts or his two way game. Not negative about Zibanejad at all.
- spatso

I think I agree with this. Lazar appears to be a really complete player. Not elite at any one skill, but really good all around. I think his ceiling might be higher than Mika. This may be just optics, but I'm not sure that Mika has the work ethic that he needs to be top 6. Seemed out of shape at the start of the season, and doesn't seem emotionally invested, at all. That's just my perspective as a fan. Have no idea if it's true or not.

Toot Toot - called the Cowen goal and the 3-2 win.

Ryan is getting heated up, Chiasson can jump on slot pucks better then anyone Ottawa has had since #15, Ceci looked great.

EK's play in his zone is a total gong show - he was responsible for about 5 glorious scoring chances from weak play. He also had a shift were ottawa had an odd man rush and he floated back to the bench gliding when if he hustled we could of added and attacker to the play do we need to bring Alfie in to show how and NHL Captain hustles ion EVERY PLAY? I don't know what's with Karlsson, he's so non-chalant I can't tell if he's overworked, disinterested or doesn't know how to defend. Then he feeds Ryan with that beautiful cross body pass and Ryan scores so it's all good, then he follows that up with a horrible read, a slot giveaway and Brian Lee style standing around wondering what the hell is going on in front of him. Is it his minutes, is he still injured, has he lost his passion for the game?

Greening is weak, if we could take Condra's brain and put it into Greening we'd have an excellent 3rd line winger and it would solve our 24 man roster issue because Condra wouldn't have a brain so we could put him on LTIR.

I think I agree with this. Lazar appears to be a really complete player. Not elite at any one skill, but really good all around. I think his ceiling might be higher than Mika. This may be just optics, but I'm not sure that Mika has the work ethic that he needs to be top 6. Seemed out of shape at the start of the season, and doesn't seem emotionally invested, at all. That's just my perspective as a fan. Have no idea if it's true or not.
- Stringer74

i personally think that, right now, it's optics.

lazar has looked better, but he's been getting WAY easier minutes. he's been playing against the others teams 3rd and 4th lines, getting only OZ starts.

Mika has been playing agaisnt oppositions 1st and 2nd lines, with a fairly equal distribution of OZ and DZ starts.

i don't disagree about lazar's ceiling, although it's debatable. i do think that putting him into a top six role, at 19 years old, with only 10 games of NHL experience could potentially be disasterous for his development. Stone and Hoffman are older, they've been playing pro hockey for a few years between AHL and NHL, and IMO are ready for top six mintues and all the entails.

it's important for the immediate and future success of this team to get zibanejad going........the best way to do that is by putting him in the top six, with complemenatry wingers.

I think the top six i suggested above is the best possible deployment of our forwards.

Toot Toot - called the Cowen goal and the 3-2 win.

Ryan is getting heated up, Chiasson can jump on slot pucks better then anyone Ottawa has had since #15, Ceci looked great.

EK's play in his zone is a total gong show - he was responsible for about 5 glorious scoring chances from weak play. He also had a shift were ottawa had an odd man rush and he floated back to the bench gliding when if he hustled we could of added and attacker to the play do we need to bring Alfie in to show how and NHL Captain hustles ion EVERY PLAY? I don't know what's with Karlsson, he's so non-chalant I can't tell if he's overworked, disinterested or doesn't know how to defend. Then he feeds Ryan with that beautiful cross body pass and Ryan scores so it's all good, then he follows that up with a horrible read, a slot giveaway and Brian Lee style standing around wondering what the hell is going on in front of him. Is it his minutes, is he still injured, has he lost his passion for the game?

Greening is weak, if we could take Condra's brain and put it into Greening we'd have an excellent 3rd line winger and it would solve our 24 man roster issue because Condra wouldn't have a brain so we could put him on LTIR.
- tuna99

karlsson``s defense is what it is, doens`t look too different from usual.

But, I felt he was moving the puck in ways he hadn`t in a while. Multiple times he entered the Nashville zone with ease. Havne`t seen him do that in a while.

karlsson``s defense is what it is, doens`t look too different from usual.

But, I felt he was moving the puck in ways he hadn`t in a while. Multiple times he entered the Nashville zone with ease. Havne`t seen him do that in a while.
- david22

yeah his defense has always been up and down...but he looked super smooth and fast last night...

spezza gets 4 years at 7.5 mil

dallas obviously had to give him too much money in order to cut back on term.....don't think spezza is a 7.5mil player (but that's just my opinion)

karlsson``s defense is what it is, doens`t look too different from usual.

But, I felt he was moving the puck in ways he hadn`t in a while. Multiple times he entered the Nashville zone with ease. Havne`t seen him do that in a while.
- david22

Do you see him just letting players get into open ice and not only open ice but they can go forehand, to backhand to forehand and make plays - this isn't guys getting a step this is the opposition players going full Patrick Kane on Karlsson's side of the ice.

And Leggy on the PP has to go, he's big but we need someone who can skate up the wall and get some space on the set up. He has Zero escapability and gets forced onto his backhand and his back to the play with ease - get Mika on that wall or someone with some moves like Pageau