The Ottawa Senators still have a bit of tweaking to do to their game and tonight’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens proved it.

Despite building up a 3-0 lead and playing a strong first half, the Canadiens did anything but back away and eventually clawed their way to victory.

One of the brightest lights of the night came from Zack Smith who potted two goals in the first period, including a shorthanded marker, and even got into a scrap with Jarred Tinordi in the third period. The line of Smith, Erik Condra and Mike Hoffman was one of, if not the hardest working trio of the night.

“I thought he played real good,” said Paul MacLean of Smith’s performance after the game. “[He] showed what kind of player he is, a character guy that cares about his teammates in the game and I thought he played a very good game.”

Tonight’s game also marked the first time captain Daniel Alfredsson has seen real game action since February. MacLean said he skated well, had some good shots on net and played an overall good game considering how he’d be previously out.

With the regular season just around the corner, many wonder if this game was a foreshadow of what the Senators will look like this year. They provided a good, entertaining game but tailed off in the last half that resulted in the eventual loss.

As fans of the team, it’s hard to immediately write off this group and condemn them to another year of futility and the best of people hope for pleasant surprises at the very least. It’s no secret that the veterans on the team need to lead by example in order for the young talent to compliment them.

MacLean was quick to say good things about the games of Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek tonight, which gives an indication that they’re communicating well with the new bench boss. It will most likely take a few games, week even, into the regular season to get a sense of the identity of these “new” Senators but that’s all part of the growing process.

Spezza was the lone Senator to score in the shootout while Max Pacioretty and Erik Cole (game winner) scored for the Canadiens.

The Senators continue their pre-season with rematch against the Canadiens tomorrow night in Montreal followed by the Kraft Hockeyville game on Monday against the Winnipeg Jets in Conception Bay, N.L.

It may only just be pre-season but Mika Zibanejad has been making a good impression on everyone in the Nation’s Capital.

Despite having an otherwise quiet game against the Boston Bruins, the 2011 first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators got his first taste of celebration at Scotiabank Place by blasting home the game-winning goal three minutes into overtime.

Taking a hard pass from Brian Lee, who also scored a goal and was named first start of the game tonight, Zibanejad ripped the puck past Tuukka Rask from the point.

Considering Zibanejad is fighting for a roster spot, preferably the second line centre position, he’s certainly going about it in the right way. He may not be flashy all the time, but he makes his physical presence known more often than not and shows small burts of speed and skill.

While pre-season is essentially a glorified tryout for players on the bubble, it gives a good indication of the things teams need to focus on strengthening. The powerplay needs some tweaking but it also comes down to building chemistry once the final roster is set.

The Senators did have a lengthy shift in the offensive zone during a delayed penalty call in the first period where they sustained good pressure and had more than a few solid scoring chances. Their puck possession game was fairly strong on the night as a whole, outshooting the Bruins 36-26 by game’s end.

Craig Anderson and Alex Auld, who shared goaltending duties tonight, made 10 and 15 saves respectively.

The next pre-season game will take place on Friday when the Montreal Canadiens come to town with Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza likely seeing game action.

The Ottawa Senators have began to dwindle their training camp roster down and the first reassignments have gone to a handful of junior-aged prospects.

Six players are headed back to their respective junior teams to begin their seasons for good and who can surely take back with them a good amount of experience.

Among them are Mark Stone and Jordan Fransoo of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Jakub Culek of the Rimouski Oceanic, Stefan Noesen of the Plymouth Whalers and Matt Puempel of the Peterborough Petes.

Goaltender Matej Machovsky of the Brampton Battalion was released from his professional tryout contract.

The Senators continue their pre-season action when the reigning Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins visit Scotiabank Place tomorrow night. Notable players who will be in the line-up are Shane Prince of the Ottawa 67′s and Kanata-native Mark Borowiecki.

Borowiecki will be playing his first game in the rink that’s literally in his backyard. When he was drafted in 2008, the year Ottawa acted as host of the event, he simply hopped into his car and drove over when he learned he had been chosen by his hometown team.

Albeit only a pre-season game, it should be a very special night for Borowiecki who will no doubt have a large contingent of fans cheering for him in the stands. He took a moment to tweet out his excitement this afternoon:

The Senators will ice a more veteran line-up tomorrow night with Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Phillips all expected to play. Many of the eventual Binghamton-bound players will stick around until after the weekend since camp doesn’t officially start until next week.

For game coverage, TSN will be broadcasting from Scotiabank Place as well as the Team 1200. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.

The start of pre-season inches closer and closer to a new season and what better way to kick things off than with a good old fashioned Battle of Ontario?

The Ottawa Senators head into Leafs Nation icing a young roster without a majority of their veterans. This gives them the chance to step into big roles and fight for jobs right off the bat. The players who participated in the rookie tournament got a taste of what this provincial rivalry is like but now they get to experience it on a little higher level.

Here are the Senators forward lines and defensive pairings as per Brent Wallace:

Nikita Filtov – Peter Regin – Bobby Butler
Milan Michalek – Mika Zibanejad – Mark Stone
Colin Greening – Zack Smith – Chris Neil
Mike Hoffman – Zenon Konopka – Francis Lessard

Filip Kuba – Erik Karlsson
Patrick Wiercioch – Tim Conboy
Jared Cowen – David Runblad

Alex Auld – Robin Lehner

The goalies will split goaltending duties with Auld playing the first half and Lehner taking over to close out the rest of the game, as confirmed this morning by coach Paul MacLean.

With the likes of Neil, Konopka and Lessard dressing tonight, there’s no denying it will be a physical game even without looking at the line-up for the Leafs. It’s interesting to see Hoffman on that fourth line; looks a little out of place considering his linemates but only time will tell to see what it looks like on ice.

On paper, these lines seem to be balanced pretty well. There’s the speedy would-be scoring first line; the more physical second line that can also score; a grinding, hard-nosed third line; and a more brutish fourth line, minus Hoffman who gives them some skill.

As for the blueliners, Kuba and Karlsson have spent time together as a pairing before as well as Cowen and Rundblad during the recent rookie camp. The latter have actually looked very steady as a tandem and it should be fun watching Karlsson and Rundblad both hit the ice with their smooth skating strides.

But it’s easy to over-analyze a pre-season game, especially one between the Senators and the Leafs so it’s best to let things play out on their own and allow the players to do what they do.

Here are the Leafs lines as per Scott MacArthur:

Clarke MacArthur – Mikhail Grabovski – Nikolai Kulemin
Nazem Kadri – Tyle Bozak – Colby Armstrong
Matt Frattin – Joe Colborne – Joey Crabb
Kenny Ryan – Philippe Dupuis – Jay Rosehill

Keith Aulie – Dion Phaneuf
John-Michael Liles – Jake Gardiner
Carl Gunnarsson – Matt Lashoff

Jonas Gustavsson – Ben Scrivens

As always, the Team 1200 will be broadcasting the game along with the NHL Network and Leafs TV.

There’s no such thing as easing their way into things for the Ottawa Senators.

On the second day of training camp, the first on the ice, the players came in and went full-tilt during their fast-paced, high-tempo practices. All three teams – Boschman, Kyte, and Marsh – had ice-time in the morning and culminated in a two-period scrimmage between Team Kyte and Team Boschman.

The scrimmage itself remained high-tempo and presented a great opportunity to see them in game action. Daniel Alfredsson looked every bit as comfortable on the ice considering he’d been sidelined since February. Nothing at all flashy, but more of a sight for sore eyes.

David Rundblad is very much a taller version of Erik Karlsson with his fluid movements on the ice and maybe even be that much smoother on his skates, which is saying a lot.

Mika Zibanejad spent time centering a line with Alfredsson and Milan Michalek and certainly didn’t look out of place. He carried over his physical play from the rookie tournament and even laid a good hit on Matt Puempel just inside the blueline.

After two periods of scrimmage play, the teams were tied 2-2 thanks to Team Marsh clawing their way back out of a 2-0 deficit. However, Team Kyte ended it quickly during the 4-on-4 overtime when Michalek came swooping in off the wing and lifted a nice backhander past Robin Lehner.

The Senators will have the same schedule of practice tomorrow morning before a season ticket holder event at Scotiabank Place in the afternoon.

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SABRES SPOIL HERITAGE JERSEY SURPRISE FOR SENS
With the way the internet works these days, it’s hard to keep any secrets despite the attempts to keep everything under tight lock and key. But perhaps the Buffalo Sabres have some explaining to do after effectively buzzkilling the much anticipated unveiling of the new Senators heritage jersey.

According to the blog Icethetics, a reader wrote in and said the Sabres merchandise store is already selling the heritage jersey that was set to be unveiled by the team at a scheduled event on Oct. 1. While fans have already seen good mock-ups of the upcoming jersey, this was most likely the first time they’ve seen an actual picture of it. Here it is in all its glory:

With all the physicals and fitness testing in the books, it’s time for the Ottawa Senators to hit the ice and get down to business.

Split into three groups, they will skate tomorrow morning followed by a scrimmage between Team Kyte and Team Marsh. The scrimmage will be livestreamed on the Senators homepage as well as their Facebook page starting at 11:30 a.m. and will run for approximately an hour.

Here are the full rosters for all three groups:

TEAM BOSCHMAN	TEAM KYTE	TEAM MARSH
Goaltenders: 32 Machovsky 41 Anderson	Goaltenders: 29 McKenna 35 Auld	Goaltenders: 30 Stewart 40 Lehner
Defencemen: 17 Kuba 38 Conboy 39 Carkner 46 Wiercioch 63 Godfrey 65 Karlsson	Defencemen: 2 Cowen 51 Raymond 55 Gonchar 62 Gryba 64 Schira	Defencemen: 4 Phillips 5 Lee 7 Rundblad 52 Fransoo 74 Borowiecki
Forwards: 6 Kramer 14 Greening 15 Smith 16 Butler 19 Spezza 21 Filatov 37 Locke 42 O’Brien 50 Culek 56 Downing 57 Grant 60 Stone	Forwards: 9 Michalek 10 Prince 11 Alfredsson 24 Da Costa 27 Parrish 44 Pageau 48 Cannone 49 Lessard 53 Hamilton 54 Cowick 58 Gratchev 68 Hoffman 93 Zibanejad	Forwards: 3 Puempel 13 Regin 17 Foligno 18 Winchester 20 Petersson 22 Condra 23 Daugavins 25 Neil 28 Konopka 36 Noesen 59 Dziurzynski 67 Caporusso

Less than 24 hours until the Ottawa Senators open training camp and there are already so many events coming up in celebration of their 20th season.

Their camp roster boasts 59 invites that will split into three teams when they take the ice. The unique part of these groups is that they are named after Senators of the past who all played during the inaugural 1992-1993 season: Laurie Boschman, Jim Kyte and Brad Marsh.

They will begin with their usual physicals and fitness testing on Friday Sept. 16 and will have their first on-ice session by groups on Saturday at the Bell Sensplex. These are the skate times for each group:

Team Boschman: 9 a.m. and 9:55 a.m.
Team Kyte: 10:40 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Team Marsh: 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 a.m.

The full roster, which lists all the players who participated in the recent rookie tournament, includes six goaltenders, 16 defenceman and 37 forwards:

Craig Anderson (Colorado – NHL, Ottawa – NHL)
Alex Auld (Montreal – NHL)
Robin Lehner (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL)
Matej Machovsky (Guelph – OHL, Brampton – OHL)
Mike McKenna (New Jersey – NHL, Albany – AHL)
Brian Stewart (Adirondack – AHL, Greenville – ECHL, Bakersfield – ECHL)

Mark Borowiecki (Clarkson – ECAC, Binghamton – AHL)
Matt Carkner (Ottawa – NHL)
Tim Conboy (Portland – AHL)
Jared Cowen (Binghamton – AHL, Spokane – WHL)
Jordan Fransoo (Brandon – WHL)
Josh Godfrey (South Carolina – ECHL, Hershey – AHL, Chicago – AHL)
Sergei Gonchar (Ottawa – NHL)
Eric Gryba (Binghamton – AHL)
Erik Karlsson (Ottawa – NHL)
Filip Kuba (Ottawa – NHL)
Brian Lee (Ottawa – NHL)
Chris Phillips (Ottawa – NHL)
Bobby Raymond (Binghamton – AHL, Florida – ECHL)
David Rundblad (Skelleftea – SEL)
Craig Schira (Binghamton – AHL)
Patrick Wiercioch (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL)

Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa – NHL)
Bobby Butler (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL)
Pat Cannone (Binghamton – AHL, Miami (Ohio) – NCAA)
Louie Caporusso (Michigan – CCHA)
Erik Condra (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL)
Corey Cowick (Elmira – ECHL, Binghamton – AHL)
Jakub Culek (Rimouski – QMJHL)
Stephane Da Costa (Merrimack College – Hockey East, Ottawa – NHL)
Kaspars Daugavins (Binghamton – AHL)
Jack Downing (University of Vermont – NCAA)
David Dziurzynski (Binghamton – AHL)
Nikita Filatov (Columbus – NHL, Springfield – AHL)
Nick Foligno (Ottawa – NHL)
Derek Grant (Michigan State – CCHA, Binghamton – AHL)
Max Gratchev (Cherepovets Severstal – KHL)
Colin Greening (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL)
Wacey Hamilton (Medicine Hat – WHL)
Mike Hoffman (Binghamton – AHL, Elmira – ECHL)
Zenon Konopka (N.Y. Islanders – NHL)
Darren Kramer (Spokane – WHL)
Francis Lessard (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL)
Corey Locke (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL)
Milan Michalek (Ottawa – NHL)
Chris Neil (Ottawa – NHL)
Stefan Noesen (Plymouth – OHL)
Jim O’Brien (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Gatineau – QMJHL)
Mark Parrish (Buffalo – NHL, Portland – AHL)
Andre Petersson (HV 71 – SEL)
Shane Prince (Ottawa – OHL)
Matt Puempel (Peterborough – OHL)
Peter Regin (Ottawa – NHL)
Zack Smith (Ottawa – NHL, Binghamton – AHL)
Jason Spezza (Ottawa – NHL)
Mark Stone (Brandon – WHL)
Jesse Winchester (Ottawa – NHL)
Mika Zibanejad (Djurgardens – SEL)

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ANNIVERSARY WEBSITES, HERITAGE JERSEYS AND A FAN MOSAIC
The Ottawa Senators have launched some additional websites tying in with their anniversary that takes fans through the history and timeline of the team and gets them involved in a big way.

The historical website includes the history of their early years when the original Senators first hit the ice, a timeline of their jerseys over the years and a media gallery that goes season by season since 1992-1993.

This new website also gives the fans a chance to submit photos that will be put together as a giant mosaic. People have already been sending in pictures and it’s coming together piece by piece.

The highly anticipated heritage third jerseys will be unveiled on Saturday Oct. 3 at an event called Puck Drop that will include an open practice where they will actually be shown for the first time, a used equipment sale and various games and activities in front of Scotiabank Place.

Fans will have the opportunity to purchase the heritage jersey on site. It will be included in a special package with a vintage scarf as well as a voucher for two game tickets to their game against the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 13 when they will be don them in game action for the first time.

The Heritage Hockey Package, listed at $129.99 + tax for a $214.98 value, will be available for purchase from Oct. 1 to Oct. 5 at any Sens Store location. They can also be pre-ordered from the Senators website.

It took a little bit of extra time thanks to some late-game dramatics but Mark Stone lifted the Ottawa Senators rookies to victory with an overtime goal to win 4-3 over their rivals Toronto Maple Leafs.

With the win, the Senators rookies also finished the tournament with a 3-0 record heading into main camp that begins on Friday.

“They’re a physical team; that’s the way they draft and that’s the way they play,” said Stone about his newfound rivals. “We didn’t back down, we played our game and came out on top in the end. It shows a lot about the prospects in the Ottawa organization. We got a great group of guys here, everyone’s playing for each other and that’s the reason we won.”

The Senators carried the play early to start the game, shown by some great physicality by Mika Zibanejad. He’s shown he’s not at all afraid to use his body and seems to have gotten a lot stronger on his skates to finish checks.

Stephane Da Costa opened the scoring in the first period, his fourth goal of the tournament, after the Senators kept up good pressure in the Leafs end. He fooled Leafs goaltender Mark Owuya with a quick wrist shot to make it 1-0.

During that same sequence, David Rundblad showed off his skill and skating ability by getting away with a spin move at the blueline to keep the puck in the zone. As one of the highly touted newcomers to the organization, he’s made a great impression on fans and surely Senators staff alike by showing what kind of skill set he brings to the table.

Robin Lehner had another strong game, coming up with big saves throughout the night and showing everyone exactly why he was this year’s Calder Cup MVP. Every period came with at least one spectacular save with Lehner in great position and fighting through traffic every time.

The other goal scorers for the Senators were Jakub Culek, who was wide open in front of the net and took nice feed from the corner from Louie Caporusso, and Zibanejad who displayed a great backhander that easily found the back of the net against his Djurgardens teammate Owuya.

After the Senators held 2-0 and 3-2 leads, the Leafs didn’t go quietly and fought back in late stages of the game. Greg McKegg, a third-round pick in 2010, scored to tie it 3-3 with just 48 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime before Stone potted the winner.

“We talked today about introducing these young players to the rivalry,” said coach Kleinendorst after the game. “Say what you want, you can just sense it out there … there’s just not a whole lot of like out there between either team.”

While it’s hard to keep from getting too excited after a three-game rookie tournament, these Senators rookies waiting in the wings shows the organization is on the right track in building their way back up to being a contender in the league.

Players such as Cowen, Rundblad and Da Costa show they’re right around the level they should be in order to compete for spots in the NHL and will certainly make it a tough battle for the veterans to keep their jobs.

First-rounder Zibanejad has also been turning some heads, and rightfully so, and seems dead set on making it tough for Senators brass to cut him and send him back to Sweden. He will certainly a good look during pre-season and it should be a fun ride watching him try to earn a place in the line-up.

Parting shots: What would a Battle of Ontario be without a few scraps? Corey Cowick got into it with Garrett Clarke in the first period and while he was on the short end of that fight, he was none the worse for wear … Mark Borowiecki also dropped the gloves in the second period against Jamie Devane, which ended in a double-knockout at the end where both players landed punches and subsequently dropped to the ice. Borowiecki was left a little bloodied but remained in the game … Shane Prince was a little busy spending some time in the penalty box but had a quiet night point-wise as he registered three assists.

SENS MAIN CAMP STARTS FRIDAY SEPT. 16
According to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, the Senators training camp roster will include 60 players broken up into three different groups. It’s preluded by a golf tournament on Thursday and straight into physicals on Friday. Their first on-ice session will take place on Saturday Sept. 17. We’ll have the full roster and schedule up when the team makes it available.

BABY SENS TO PLAY AT SCOTIABANK PLACE
For those fans who enjoyed the Calder Cup ride last season and are itching for more, the Binghamton Senators have announced they will hosting the Hamilton Bulldogs in a game at Scotiabank Place on Sunday, Nov. 13. This will be the third consecutive season they will play the Montreal Canadiens’ farm team in the Nation’s Capital and will be followed up by a game at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Friday, Nov. 18. Season ticket holders will have tickets to the B-Sens game included in their packages and the general public will be able to purchase them starting Thursday, Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.

BAILEY RETIRES TO ATTEND CARLETON UNIVERSITY
Jason Bailey has some obviously strong ties to the Nation’s Capital, having played for his hometown Ottawa 67′s in the OHL and subsequently traded to the Ottawa Senators organization after being drafted by the Anaheim Ducks. With a Calder Cup championship behind him, the 24-year-old forward has made the tough decision to leave the sport he loves to pursue an academic path.

“I’m done,” Bailey said. “I just decided Tuesday. My family and I did a lot of talking, with my agent and stuff like that, and we decided it would be good for me to go back to school, look at other directions to take. It’s very tough. I don’t think I’ve ever had a September not preparing for training camp. It’s a weird feeling. But it’s OK.” (Source)

Bailey was made an unrestricted free agent at season’s end after the Senators declined to give him a qualifying offer. We wish him the best of luck in his scholastic endeavours and believe he will be successful in whatever path he chooses to follow.

FORMER SENATOR LOOKING FOR FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER
Curtis Leschyshyn, who still has one of the hardest names in Senators history to spell correctly on the first attempt, is on Twitter and looking for more followers of the Sens fan variety. He tweeted out this message this morning:

Give your guy a follow, Sens fans! Go on, do it now! Leschyshyn will be in this season’s edition of Battle of the Blades, so he’ll need all the support he can get from Sens Army!

The Ottawa Senators rookies pushed their tournament record to 2-0 after winning a goal-filled affair 6-5 over the Chicago Blackhawks this afternoon. Stephane Da Costa led the way with three goals, including two in the second period that both came from the point.

“I felt good in the second period for sure,” said Da Costa after the game. “Everything went in, which is good, gave me confidence for the third period.”

The all-business French forward maintained the fact that he’s just here to work his hardest to make the team, acknowledging the competition for forward spots is tight but that he’s doing everything he can to battle through.

Coach Kurt Kleinendorst was quick to give the Blackhawks credit for a better first period, saying they were much hungrier and had a bit more energy than his guys did.

“They were a better team without a doubt in the first and then after that we were probably the better team,” said Kleinendorst. “I don’t believe you win when you get outworked; I’m a firm believer in that you get what you deserved and I thought in the first period we got what we deserved.”

Other goal scorers in the game included Andre Petersson, Corey Cowick and Mika Zibanejad who scored two including the game winner in the third period.

“I’m glad we came back and played good in the second and third period,” said Zibanejad. “A little more energy today but it’s getting better and better each day.”

The rookies conclude the tournament with a 7 p.m. match-up against rivals and host Toronto Maple Leafs. If the Leafs win tonight against the Penguins, they’ll both head into the final game with a 2-0 record and the title of tournament champions on the line.