3 points

Well, the overlooked and underappreciated Senators got 3 of 4 points in their first two games in Sweden. The first was a penalty filled affair, but the Sens PK looked very sharp and aggressive. 5-on-5 the Sens struggled with the outlet pass, but fortunately, they didn't play much 5-on-5. Gerber was shaky.  Actually, I felt the Gerber was bad. He allowed goals on weak shots from bad angles at key points in the game.  A great way to deflate the team. But the Sens lost in overtime and at least got a point.

Game two featured a very sharp Alex Auld. He's a lot bigger than Gerber and fills the next. Auld was two seconds from a shutout and it was a powerplay goal at that.  The guy isn't awesome, but made the first shot stops that you expect. The defense was there to support him. I think the Sens will start him next game, or at least should. Heatley was impressive. He laid out to block a shot on the PK. The fact that he was even out on the PK was amazing. He actually hit a few guys too. But it was his all-world finishing ability that still amazes. If you saw him one-time a bouncing puck into the upper corner of the net, you might assume it was lucky. But he does it was a scary regularity.

The new look defense played very tough. I like the style of the team so far, even though the chemistry isn't quite there. Neil and Ruutu caused havoc, as expected. I am impressed with Winchester. I think he went undrafted and was a late-blooming college player that the Sens signed late last season. Well, the guy has turned out to be a stud along the boards. He almost always comes away with the puck or moves it effectively. I think he's a guy to watch.