Against one of the greatest players in the world, Evgeni Malkin, Mark Borowiecki stepped up. He didn’t slip up.
TAMPA, Florida – Nobody was quite sure what to expect when the NHL returned from the lockout and the schedule makers were forced to jam a 48-game schedule into 99 days.
Check that. We were awaiting long injury lists to eventually develop.
Florida Panthers defenceman Erik Gudbranson wanted to make sure there was no confusion and no hard feelings about the shoulder injury he suffered while wakeboarding in September. That’s why he called each and every one of his teammates during the lockout.
Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray continues to play an intriguing waiting game. The team’s biggest question mark remains the NHL inexperience at the bottom end of the defence depth chart, filling the holes left injuries to Jared Cowen and Mike Lundin. Meanwhile, every day, it seems, one potential stabilizing veteran defenceman with connections to Ottawa disappears from consideration as a replacement.
This time around, the Senators won’t be sneaking up on any … prognosticators.
After five solid years of drafting under general manager Bryan Murray, the Ottawa Senators are poised to reap some rewards. They have a raft of young players in Binghamton ready to make the jump to the NHL, so coach Paul MacLean will have plenty to choose from when he assembles his team for this lockout-shortened season.