About the Senators - 10-5-08

A preview of the Senators.

Record: 0-0-1

Leading Scorer: Jason Spezza 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist).

Last Game: 4-3 overtime loss to the Penguins in Stockholm yesterday.

Last Game against the Penguins: Ditto.

Senators Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Dany Heatley. He had a nice goal yesterday against the Penguins. He now has 24 career points (17 goals, 7 assists) in 21 games against the Penguins.

Ex-Penguins: Shean Donovan and Jarkko Ruutu.

Useless Senators Trivia: Former Penguins forward Jarkko Ruutu wore No. 73 for the Senators yesterday. Only three players have suited up for the Senators in a higher jersey number. They are Pavol Demitra (78), Mike Comrie (89) and Alexandre Daigle (91).

Best Senators YouTube Video We Could Find: Lyndon Slewidge singing "O Canada."

-The Penguins will need some time to recover from their European trip.

-Michel Therrien made fun of Rob Scuderi for scoring yesterday. Jerk.

-Can Miroslav Satan hit the 30-goal mark again on Sidney Crosby's wing?  What about 40?

-Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin ($8.7 million per season) make more money than the payrolls of 10 teams in the KHL.

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins got blown out by the Hershey Bears in a preseason game, 8-2.

-Ryan Stone was booted from the game after a butt-ending major.

-Mario Lemieux is 43 today and presumably in the best shape of his life.

-Wayne Gretzky might've had something to do with the demotion of Janne Pesonen.

-Crosby kind of has a high profile.

-The Toronto Star's Damien Cox decided to be original and wrote a column comparing Crosby and Washington's Alex Ovechkin.

Atlantic Division

-Former Penguins forward Markus Naslund (right) scored a goal in his debut with the Rangers as New York beat Tampa Bay, 2-1, in Prague.

-Are the Rangers going to have trouble on offense again this season?

-Forward Glen Metropolit thought long and hard about joining the Flyers in he offseason. The whole puppy-drowning thing apparently sold him.

Northeast Division

-The Senators made a lot of changes in the offseason. Unfortunately for them, they looked the same on the ice yesterday.

-Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson is feeling at home in Sweden.

-Ottawa forward Jarkko Ruutu talks about leaving the Penguins:

-Buffalo forward Tim Connolly expects to start the season healthy.

-The Canadiens demoted forward Max Pacioretty, defenseman Yannick Weber and goaltender Marc Denis to Hamilton of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-The Hurricanes signed 2008 first-round draft pick Zach Boychuk to an entry-level deal.

-Goaltender Cam Ward pretty much means everything to the Hurricanes' hopes this season.

-The Thrashers demoted goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to Chicago of the AHL. The only thing is, Pavelec refused the demotion.

-A high sticking penalty by Lightning forward Gary Roberts help set up the winning goal for the Rangers yesterday.

-Lightning forward and Czech native Vaclav Prospal felt a lot of pride when his country's national anthem was played yesterday.

-Tampa Bay claims chemistry wasn't an issue in yesterday's loss.

-Lightning goaltender Mike Smith is dealing with a bruised forearm.

-After making the team on a tryout, former Penguins prospect Jamie Heward played in Tampa Bay's first game yesterday.

-Alex Ovechkin is kind of popular in Washington.

Central Division

-The Red Wings signed goaltender Thomas McCollum, their 2008 first-round pick to an entry-level deal.

-Chicago demoted former Penguins forward Tim Brent to Rockford of the AHL.

-The Blackhawks are holding goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin out of practice.

-Chicago forward Martin Havlat claims his oft-injured shoulder is healthy.

-Ah... Good, old dumb Ben Eager. The Blackhawks thug is likely facing a suspension for swinging his stick as Stars forward Sean Avery . What is it about Avery getting into it with other jerks around the NHL lately? First Don Cherry and now Ben Eager.

-The Stars probably should pick up Gary Roberts.

-The Canucks put forward Jeff Cowan and defenseman Nathan McIver on waivers. McIver was claimed by the Ducks.

-Vancouver demoted former Penguins defenseman Nolan Baumgartner to Manitoba of the AHL.

-Wild forward Owen Nolan is still ornery.

-Canadiens fans might be the best in the league. Why? Because they gave Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom a standing ovation in a 3-0 preseason win in Montreal last night.

-They're still talking about the 1989 Conn Smythe winner in Calgary.

-The Avalanche demoted forward Chris Stewart to Lake Erie of the AHL. He was their 2006 first-round pick.

-Colorado forward T.J. Hensick is dealing with an eye injury.

Pacific Division

-Dallas co-general managers Les Jackson and Brett Hull have built a winning atmosphere within their franchise.

-Season ticket sales have increased for the Sharks.

Adams Division

-Voting for the new "Hockey Night in Canada" theme song has opened.

(Photos: Senators-Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images; Penguins-Getty Images; Naslund-Petr David Josek/Associated Press; Havlat-Jerry Lai/Associated Press)