Senators Article: B-Sens barely making the grade at midpoint, First-half record disappointing
January 16, 2004

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Press Connects.com

B-Sens barely making the grade at midpoint

First-half record disappointing

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

BINGHAMTON -- Clearly, the Binghamton Senators aren't as good as they looked in opening the season with five straight wins. But they also aren't as bad as they appeared during that four-week, 1-7 spell in late November and early December.

If the season's first half yielded anything, it's that the Senators' true identity can probably be found somewhere in between.

"I think if you drew a graph of our season, we're definitely right in the middle," center Serge Payer said Thursday. "If you take the first five games, at that point we were happy. We're playing better now than during our slump, but we didn't expect to have the record we have right now."

Nobody figured the Senators for a 16-17-4-2, sixth-place team as they reach the mathematical midpoint of their season here tonight against the Albany River Rats. Not after an inaugural season in which they won the American Hockey League's East Division and came within three victories of playing for the Calder Cup.

But three of the four top players from that club -- centers Jason Spezza and Antoine Vermette and defenseman Brian Pothier -- graduated to Ottawa this season. Few AHL teams, even ones with a goalie prospect as staunch as Ray Emery, could sustain such significant losses and live to defend a division title.

That's not to say the Senators aren't talented enough to make the playoffs, and if Emery remains in the minors, even a run at the Cup. But their lack of a game-breaking scorer and a puck-rushing defenseman probably means they're closer to a .500 team than a real championship contender.

The proof is in the recent postgame comments of coach John Paddock, who's at risk of not extending his streak of nine straight seasons with 40 or more wins. Paddock has been generally pleased with the team's performance even in disappointing losses like last Saturday night against Philadelphia or the previous weekend against Springfield.

"We're not frustrated in how we're playing," winger David Hymovitz said. "We're frustrated in the results. There are more cases where we've played well but didn't have the end result we wanted. But we're not pushing the panic button. We have (41) more games to improve on the first half."

Before they begin, here's a position-by-position evaluation of the first 39.

GOALIES: SAVING THE DAY

When he played for the Yankees, Reggie Jackson called himself "the straw that stirs the drink."

Emery is the Senators' Reggie Jackson.

Good luck finding a better AHL goalie than Emery, whose numbers (2.26 goals-against average, .924 save percentage) are stunningly improved this season even though his team isn't. As usual, he's been at his best in the biggest spots. Witness back-to-back home-ice shutouts of first-place Bridgeport in December.

The Senators like rookie backup Billy Thompson, who, despite two shaky outings against Albany, has proven he's capable of starting in the AHL.

But make no mistake:Binghamton's hopes of making the playoffs rest squarely on Ottawa goalies Patrick Lalime and Martin Prusek staying healthy, and Emery staying put.

Grade:A-minus.

DEFENSEMEN: THE WEAKEST LINKS

It's hardly a shortcoming of the Senators' seven defensemen that none of them are Pothier.

Truth is, underrated Julien Vauclair is going to the All-Star Game, sophomores Andy Hedlund and Christoph Schubert are improved from last season, and the Senators have gotten about as much as they can from 14-year veteran Steve Bancroft and rough-around-the-edges rookie Jan Platil.

Peter Smrek, acquired in the summer for speed-burning winger Chris Bala, has been inconsistent at best, disappointing at worst. But it's unfair to expect Smrek or the no-frills Vauclair to assume Pothier's 30 minutes per game or his role as power-play quarterback and defensive leader.

For that, Ottawa has been looking outside the organization, but for good reason, teams rarely part with defensemen like Pothier. Paddock and vice president of operations Tom Mitchell took a loan on Syracuse defenseman Radim Bicanek last March, and similar help is needed now to enhance a defensive unit that, through little fault of its own, just isn't good enough.

Grade:C-minus.

FORWARDS: WORK IN PROGRESS

If Vermette stayed up north (in Ottawa), everyone knew Binghamton's goal total would go south.

Having already lost six of their top seven scorers (Brad Smyth, Spezza, Pothier, Joe Murphy, Bob Wren, Bicanek) to free agency or promotions, Vermette was the last game-breaker the B-Sens had. So when he stayed in the NHL, it was no shock they mustered just 2.79 goals per game in the first half and scored more than two goals in a game just five times since Nov. 22.

No offense to Denis Hamel or Josh Langfeld, but they aren't leaders of an offense.

Still, last week's swap of underachieving center Daniel Corso for speedy winger Brad Tapper and the return of promising rookie center Brooks Laich from a month-long bout with mononucleosis have revived slumping winger Alexandre Giroux and given the Senators the makings of two balanced scoring lines.

Tapper, Laich and Giroux have clicked for four straight games, and when Hamel and Langfeld return from call-ups to Ottawa, they'll play with captain Chris Kelly. Payer, who's been slowed by a hip injury, and penalty-killing specialist David Hymovitz are also capable of chipping in goals.

There still aren't any Vermettes here, but there should be enough goals to win.

Last month's suspension of Dennis Bonvie signaled an end to the malcontented enforcer's career here and raised questions of where the Senators would find their toughness. The signing of Mike Brown last week, coupled with the continued improvement of emergent AHL tough guy Brian McGrattan, should provide enough of an answer.

Grade: C.

SECOND-HALF PROJECTION

Their obvious shortcomings aside, the Senators have shown signs of improvement in the past two weeks. And let's not forget, they were a better second-half team last season, going 24-12-4-1 after Game No. 40 en route to the division crown.

If the Senators can generate more offense from their newly formed top two lines, find another defenseman and improve their special teams, they're good enough to beat out Norfolk and Albany for a playoff spot. And they'll be a dangerous first-round opponent because of the Emery factor.

Overall first-half team grade: C.