The Florida Panthers have refused to give up, and have closed the gap between themselves and the Boston Bruins to just 1 point and have a game in hand. A win for them tonight would vault them into a playoff position for the first time since December 20th and closing the chasm from the 8 points it was on Feb 8th.
The Panthers come in off a SO win over the Habs on Thursday, with David Bolland earning some of that ridiculous salary by potting the winner against Carey Price.
For the Senators, they will have another new face in their lineup as they have swapped Shane Prince for Matt Puempel and the latter will make his NHL debut tonight. It is a good thing for Puempel but kind of curious because Prince was very effective in his two game and I thought deserved a longer look to see if he could maintain that over some time. I guess management just wants to see what they have among their prospects, and maybe saw enough from Prince to get a good idea. Plus, Prince is a pending RFA and maybe the more NHL games he plays, the more bargaining power he might have.
Andrew Hammond will be in goal again, and at least for the foreseeable future as Bryan Murray confirmed that both Lehner and Clarke MacArthur suffered concussions in that collision on Monday night. Lehner might travel with the team on the California trip, but MacArthur most likely will not.
Hammond made 42 saves in his first NHL start in earning his first NHL win, and will likely see all the action until Lehner or Craig Anderson can return.
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The TSN Insiders (I think it was Draren Dreger but stand to be corrected) stated on Thursday night that if the Bruins didn't make the playoffs this season that the jobs of both Peter Chiarelli and Claude Julien were on the line. Well, if Florida passes them and can keep ahead of Boston, would it not be a great thing for the duo to get canned, and then come to Ottawa as a package?
Chiarelli is an Ottawa native and spent two years as an assistant GM for the Senators in the mid-2000's before taking over in Boston. Julien coached the Hull (now Gatineau) Olympiques for a season, winning the Memorial Cup in 1996-97.
Within the last couple of weeks Bryan Murray has hinted that he might want to stay on longer as the GM, but if Chiarelli became available it is something that they would have to look at, and would be foolish not to consider, taking Murray's health into consideration.
I appreciate what Murray has done for the organization as much as anyone, and like everyone else I hope he beats the unbeatable, but the plan has to be in place should the worst happen. To pass up a proven commodity in Chiarelli in favor of Pierre Dorion or Randy Lee would be a mistake.
Should Chiarelli be released in Boston, that very day Murray should make the call and handpick his successor and if Chiarelli accepts Murray could move into an advisory role. If Julien were also to get the axe then the discussion on what to do behind the bench could take place, because Dave Cameron has done a pretty good job and the cost of bringing in both would be pretty high.
Again, this is all hypothetical and based on rumor, but also an interesting discussion.
Would Melnyk, who has always been a Cameron supporter, not only open the wallet to bring in an elite level GM and coach with a professional track record, at the expense of his protege? Would Murray step into the background if that is what is best for the long-term success of the team? Would building a winner not only in his hometown but also with the team that gave him his start as an executive be enticing enough to bring Chiarelli in over other inevitable offers he would get? Or is the succession plan already in place and Chiarelli and/or Julien becoming available will not affect the plan in the least?
All interesting questions with no immediate answers.