The Ottawa Senators and their rival Montreal Canadiens will square off for the second time this season, and for the Sens it will be a chance to welcome a couple of important players back to the fold while missing one very key component.
Mike Hoffman and Curtis Lazar will both be back from lower and upper body injuries respectively, but the key loss will be Mark Stone, who was suspended for 2 days yesterday for his hit on Landon Ferraro Saturday night (more on that later).
Despite the fact that the Habs will be without Carey Price, it is still a monumental task for the Senators. No longer can you say the Habs are Price and nothing else. This is a team that has been dominant like no other team in the early going, and their offense has scored the second most goals per game while still maintaining a top 3 goals against.
The Habs' +26 goal differential is 15 more than next best, the +11 Washington Capitals. It gets ramped up even more at home, where they are averaging 4 goals per game while allowing just 1 in amassing a perfect 5-0-0 record.
And they haven't missed a beat even when Price doesn't start, and it will be Mike Condon who will face the Senators for the second time this season, after beating them 3-1 in the Senators' home opener. Condon is 4-0-0 and has a stellar 1.51 GAA and .944 SP, numbers that are even better than Price's.
Enough pumping the Hab's tires, although as difficult as it was, it is totally deserved as they are probably the only dominant team so far this season.
The Senators have been far better on the road so far this season, with a 4-1 record. Their lineup is drastically altered with the loss of Stone, and it will be interesting to see how Dave Cameron sets things up.
Early projections are that Kyle Turris will center the returning Mike Hoffman and Curtis Lazar, but the morning skate will give a better indication how they will start the game and where they guys will slot in. It will certainly be an interesting lineup with a lot of different options for the coach to consider, and I will update it when they go through this morning's skate.
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Hoffman-Turris-Lazar Prince-Zibanejad-Ryan Michalek-Pageau-Chiasson Puempel-Smith-Neil It is a tough task for the Senators without probably their best forward, but consistency will be the key, even if it sounds like a broken record. And speaking of consistency
THOUGHTS ON STONE SUSPENSION Speaking of consistency, perhaps the only thing more inconsistent than the Senators' play this season is the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
Yes, Mark Stone caught Landon Ferraro with a shot to the jaw. It is impossible to deny that. I think what is so hard for the Senators and the fan base to digest with the two game suspension that was handed out is the lack of any rhyme or reason when they hand out suspensions. It is like they have a big wheel in the office and spin it and hand out whatever punishment it lands on.
If this is the standard that they want to set forth in the future, that is one thing. If they chose to set Stone's hit as the benchmark, that is fine, just get some consistency. This was a glancing blow from a player who has zero history with the DPS and there was no injury on the play, and I don't think it was particularly predatory. At worst I would have suspected a fine so that he gets on the record as an offender.
The big test on consistency will come later today when the ruling comes down on the Dustin Byfuglien elbow to Brendan Gallagher on Sunday night. It was far more blatant, predatory and Byfuglien has a history with the DPS, including a 4 game suspension last season for attempting to take the head off of J.T. Miller and three other fines on his record. If Stone gets 2 as a first time offender, Byfuglien should logically be in the 8-10 game range. But of course that won't happen. (UPDATE 12:44 PM....Byfuglien got nothing at all for his hit on Gallagher.)
Again, the Stone sentence seemed a little harsh considering the other suspensions and just fines handed out in the past. I don't have a problem with the two games, as long as that is the standard and they continue to hold the bar to that level.
But if track record is any indication, that certainly won't happen. This is an ongoing problem and I don't know what the answer is. What I do know is that as it is now, they should just put it out there in the style of the "Showcase Showdown' on the Price is Right, and spin the "Big Wheel of Fines and Suspensions" for all to see. At least then we would know what to expect.
Come on Down!