Boucher pleased with Senators battle level
BRUCE GARRIOCH
The Ottawa Senators have served notice in the first month of the season they’re for real.
And, maybe just maybe, they deserve a little bit more respect.
With only one regulation loss (5-1-5) in 11 games, the Senators can close out October in terrific shape with 17 points if they can off the struggling Montreal Canadiens Monday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
The Senators have had to battle through adversity and coach Guy Boucher noted after a 45-minute skate Sunday at home he couldn’t be happier with the way his club has performed in the first month of the regular season after advancing to the Eastern final last spring against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
First, the Senators started the year without captain Erik Karlsson, who was recovering from foot surgery. In the last 10 days, they’ve been hit by various injuries to forwards Bobby Ryan (broken finger) and Zack Smith (shoulder) along with not having top centre Kyle Turris for two games because of a viral infection.
Smith returned Friday in the club’s 5-4 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils and Boucher praised the players Sunday for the way they’ve battled the odds especially when the “experts” didn’t give them much of a chance coming into the season.
“When you look at the overall picture there’s so many things that could have gone wrong for us,” Boucher said to a small group of reporters. “Right now, we’re ahead of Toronto. People don’t put us in the playoffs and now we’re right up there with two favoured teams Tampa and Toronto.
“We’ve got the same number of points as Pittsburgh, the Stanley Cup champions, and with everything that’s been happening to us, it’s pretty impressive what the guys have been able to do.”
If you don’t believe Boucher, he brought facts to back up his argument by pointing out the Senators are: No. 1 in blocked shots, No. 2 in faceoffs, No. 5 in offence, No. 8 defensively, No. 3 in penalty killing and No. 17 on the power play. All of those areas are key to the success they’ve been able to enjoy.
“In the big picture, I’m never satisfied, but I definitely have to be impressed by what our guys have been doing since the beginning of the year and even with a full team we’ve had an impressive start,” Boucher said.
“I’ve never had that in 20 years. I’ve had some teams that have broken records but I’ve never had a team that had a point in 10 of its first 11 games. That’s really impressive. I have to give (credit) to the players. I don’t want to sit on it, or get cocky about it, but I have to be honest. It’s a tribute to the leadership, the character and the collective soul of our team. I’d love to say we’re surviving but we’ve done more than survive.”
And, there’s plenty of motivation for the Senators to continue that success with the Habs, who have just seven points in the first 11 games of the season, coming to town.
The Senators know this isn’t just any other game and these are the ones many look forward to because these two teams have built up a strong rivalry over the year.
That’s why the Senators had a bit of a jump in their step Sunday.
“(Saturday) we had the day off and I was sitting there have lunch and I’m excited about the game on Monday,” said alternate captain Dion Phaneuf. “We’re playing the Montreal Canadiens, we’ve got a great rivalry with them, they’re fun games to be a part of.
“You look at the rivalries we have: Toronto-Ottawa (and) OttawaMontreal. As players you enjoy those experiences, the energy in the building and the rivalry between Montreal and Ottawa has really grown because of the playoff matchups. I wasn’t here for that but during my time here the games are always passionate with a lot of emotion and energy. I’m looking forward to getting going.”
But, Boucher isn’t the type to put the emphasis on one game more than another so he’s determined to keep everybody on an even keel.