Training camp and preseason, which at times seemed to go on forever, have finally come to an end.
Ottawa fell 4-2 last night in their preseason finale. The game wasn’t televised so it’s pretty tough to know much about how they played but the fact that they held the Buffalo Sabres to just 25 shots is a good sign. In his post-game interview, Boucher mentioned that keeping the shot total below 25 was a priority last night.
The Senators will now have two full days off before returning to the practice ice on Monday morning.
It’s a well-deserved and very much needed break after what was an up-tempo and demanding couple weeks Guy Boucher hopes that the work the group has put in over the last 14 days will allow them to hit the ground running when the games start for real next week.
Ottawa won’t exactly ease into the schedule either.
Three straight division games right off the hop. Leafs in town on Wednesday. Canadiens here on Saturday night. And then their first game away from home on Monday night in Detroit. Four of the team’s first five games will be played on home ice, making a fast start to the season important.
And as we get pass the time until the first game of the regular season, some final thought’s on the preseason.
-Much has been made about Guy Boucher’s interest in dressing 11 forwards and 7 defenceman and I thought he did a pretty great job of outlining some of the benefits of the strategy during an interview the other day. Still, not everybody is convinced. For the Senators, I think it’s mostly about convenience at this point. It allows them to bring Thomas Chabot along slowly during his nine game audition and means they have a little more variety on what seems like a pretty thin back end. Going to be interesting to see who starts as the 8th defenceman- Thomas Chabot, Mark Borowiecki or Freddy Claesson. Smart money is on Claesson at this point.
-The Senators are still carrying 15 forwards but don’t expect that to last much longer. Ryan Dzingel has established himself as a regular. His appearance on that line with Brassard and Ryan is a pretty good indication of where he stands. Phil Varone was certainly the most pleasant surprise of this year’s preseason and it seems like he’s done enough to stick around. Although he may end up as the 12th forward and the odd-man out when they dress 11 forwards and 7 defenceman. That leaves Matt Puempel on the bubble. He scored a few goals in camp but it seems like he may still be on the outside looking in. We’ll find out shortly.
-It’s been interesting to watch the adjustment to Guy Boucher’s system. The younger players seemed to be picking it up pretty quickly but the transition hasn’t been quite as smooth for the more veteran guys. They’ve shown flashes of it during the preseason but just haven’t been able to keep up the pace for a full sixty minutes. It’s understandable. Boucher is a detail oriented guy and the players are being asked to take in a lot of information in a short period of time. Only a couple more practices to prepare at this point.
-The Senators are going to have to make a decision on Curtis Lazar pretty soon. He’s been skating with the team the last few days but is still wearing a non-contact sweater. There’s no timetable for his return but the fact that he’s able to skate is a good sign. When he is healthy, a stint in Binghamton would probably be a good idea. Some fans would have liked to see him start there even if he was healthy but this is more about making sure he’s in game shape.
Head Coach Guy Boucher talks about what he expects from his line up as preseason concludes and the team gets set for the regular season. pic.twitter.com/CXrHXVxyGY
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 8, 2016
