Sens Win in Turris Debut

Kyle Turris looked right at home in his debut with the Senators.  Turris, acquired Saturday from Phoenix, set up the first of Erik Condra's two goals, helping the Senators to a 4-1 win over Buffalo.  Turris was also a solid 7-2 in the faceoff circle and impressed with his skating and backchecking all night.

"I thought Kyle was a real good player for us," said Senators coach Paul MacLean. "He did a good job in the faceoff circle. I thought as the game wore on his game progressed. I thought it was a solid game by his line."

The Sens' poise and confidence with the puck is now emerging at an elite level.  Lindy Ruff said after the game, "We knew we didn't want to get into a run and gun battle with them."  Who would have imagined, at the start of the season, that any coach would say that about the Sens.  At best, I thought they'd be a blue collar team who'd win some games with hard work while being a little shy on skill. 

Rebuild?  What rebuild?  This team is flat out fun to watch and it's interesting to think of them doing some damage if they can squeeze into the playoffs.  They would not be an easy out, if they're still playing this way in the spring.  Confidence is spreading like a virus through the lineup right now.  Guys who used to dump the puck away as quickly as possible are now taking that little extra second that helps them make a useful play.

The win leaves the Sens now tied with the Leafs, whose wheels have lost a lugnut or two in the last few weeks.

On a sour note, Ottawa's Jesse Winchester suffered a concussion when Paul Gaustad sent him flying headfirst into the boards with a check in the opening minutes.  It's awful to see another concussion, but I can’t say I saw anything illegal about it.  Winchester puts the brakes on at a bad spot a couple of feet from the boards trying to protect the puck. 

It appeared Winchester was thinking he could just drop a shoulder on the checker, something that would have worked against 90 per cent of the guys in the NHL.  Unfortunately, it was Paul Gaustad, one of the stronger guys in the league.  Gaustad hit him with strength Winchester wasn't expecting - thus, the awkward spin into the boards.  Not a suspendable hit in my book.

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Darryl Sutter begins his fourth N-H-L coaching stint today when he takes charges of the Los Angeles Kings. Sutter last coached with Calgary in 2006, and replaces Terry Murray who was fired December 12th. The Kings haven't scored more than two goals in regulation in their last 12 games. They play their next game tomorrow against Anaheim.

Hmm.  I wonder if we’re going to have a Montreal situation. There are almost 5 million Hispanic people in LA.  Let me be the first to demand that Sutter learn Spanish immediately.  Who cares if none of the Kings speak Spanish.  Learn it, Sutter!

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Colby Armstrong is out of the Leafs lineup with a concussion. It took the Leafs by surprise because they didn’t know about it all.  Armstrong recently collided with Ryan Kesler in a hit that didn’t look like anything at all.  He wasn't right after that but kept playing.  He wanted to play against LA but, on the day of the game, started hurling when he got on the bike. Only then did he admit he wasn’t right.

It's amazing that a guy who's paid really well, who’s tight with Sidney Crosby, would hide concussion problems here in the year of the concussion.  That's the competitive fire, I guess.  That's what we've given guys credit for in the past - playing through the pain.  It's what our fathers taught us.  Armstrong and many others in the league obviously remain old school, even in the face of so much new information.