The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Ottawa had an impressive pre-season, but the real test starts today...Dany Heatley has just blown me away with his tremendous play and has answered critics about whether or not he's ready to go. Last Thursday's pre-season game against Pittsburgh was the 2nd anniversary of the death of his teammate Dan Snyder, and he picked up a goal and 2 assists...The Bochenski-Spezza-Heatley line totaled 41 points in 7 pre-season games. Can we say "chemistry"?... I was looking forward to the Zdeno Chara "Off the Record" appearance on TSN yesterday, but it was pretty bland like the majority of NHL player interviews...Chara does deserve wearing the 'A' on his sweater, however, taking it from now retired Curtis Leschyshyn...Brian Murray's style of coaching has won me over, and the players seem to be responding quite well. Jacques Martin wasn't in my doghouse despite his handling of Jason Spezza, but after so many kicks at the can you can only remain status quo for so long. ...Weird to see Radek Bonk in a Montreal Canadiens uniform. Like him or not, he was a Senator for 10 years and was involved in many of the highlights and lowlights of Ottawa Senators' history, including their exciting first run in the playoffs back in 1997 and the heartbreaking Eastern Conference Final game 7 loss to New Jersey. He scored in the third period to tie it 2-2 in that game, and I actually thought we were headed to overtime. We all know how that turned out...What an up and down day for rookie D Christoph Schubert. First, he was told he didn't make the team and would be cut, then later in the day GM John Muckler changed his mind and gave him the 7th defenceman spot. If he was sent back to Binghamton, he would have likely been claimed off waivers and Ottawa would have lost him for nothing. Keeping Schubert means they'll have a little less cap room for any moves they'd like to make later in the season...Their pre-season loss Saturday to Montreal wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It perhaps reminded the team it's not going to be a cakewalk and they can take no opponent lightly. They responded with a 3-0 win the next night...I thought it was a good move to take Antoine Vermette from the fourth line and put him on a line with Alfredsson and Smolinski. Vermette was drafted because he's a scorer, not because of his defence...Nice to see Wade Redden get a decent defensive partner for a change; Anton Volchenkov's physical presence will compliment Redden's speed and finesse game nicely. Getting stuck partnered with Brian Pothier last season didn't help anyone...Here's my best guess as to what the lineup against the Leafs tonight will look like:

Bochenski-Spezza-Heatley
Vermette-Smolinski-Alfredsson
Havlat-Fisher-Neil
Schaeffer-Kelly-McGrattan

Redden-Volchenkov
Chara-Phillips
Pothier-Mezaros
Schubert (healthy scratch?)

Hasek
Backup: Emery

Expect a playoff-like atmosphere tonight for every NHL game, and as fans we will benefit. Here's to a successful season!