• Clouston to thank for Senators' revival

  • By John Pereira, Special to ESPN.com | February 25, 2009 8:11:23 AM PST
The Senators seemed to have righted the ship, and they have their new coach, Cory Clouston, to thank.

Ottawa chased Carolina goalie Cam Ward from the crease with three first-period goals during a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes on Tuesday. The victory leaves Clouston with a winning record since taking over behind the bench earlier this month.

You can forgive Clouston for his lack of heartwarming sentiment because he's just not the warm-and-fuzzy type. He takes his lessons on tough love from his days of growing up on a horse farm in British Columbia. Clouston works his players hard in practice, again reminiscent of his former life. "Horses seem to run better when they have a good workout the day before the race," Clouston told the Ottawa Citizen. It looks as though he applies the same theory to his hockey team because they no longer look like the lackadaisical club that fell to the bottom third of the standings earlier this season.

He's tough on his players, for sure, and his regimented style seems to have caught the attention of his best players. Dany Heatley scored his 30th goal of the season on Tuesday and has been among the hottest players in the NHL over the past two weeks. The left winger has scored eight times in his past seven games after scoring only one goal in eight games prior to that.

Another player that seems to be affected by Clouston's hard-work approach is the supremely talented enigma that is center Jason Spezza. While Spezza is on pace for 68 points this season, which would represent his lowest point total since the lockout, he has been picking up his production of late, with 10 points in his past 10 games.

The Sens likely are too far out of the playoff picture to pull themselves back into contention, but all we fantasy puck heads care about is their players' production, and there is some nice value to be had in Ottawa now that the players are being held accountable again. Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli, both acquired from the Islanders this week, represent two interesting options for fantasy owners.

Comrie scored his eighth goal of the season in just his first game as a Senator on Tuesday and provides the team with some much-needed depth at center. And don't let Comrie's numbers (only 20 points) fool you; he had been playing on a terrible Islanders team. It's not out of the realm of possibility that his production will mirror what he did during his first stint with the Senators in 2006-07, when he had 20 points in 24 games after a midseason trade.

Campoli could be a valuable asset for a fantasy team that is desperate for a puck-moving defenseman. The 25-year-old saw 2:17 seconds of ice time on the power play Tuesday night -- he had an assist on Spezza's goal -- and should continue to rack up the minutes with the man advantage. Campoli is owned in only 2.6 percent of ESPN.com leagues, and could be a nice addition in a deeper league.

Thanks to Clouston, frustrated fantasy owners can finally stop pulling their hair and actually enjoy having a Senators player on their rosters again.

Ice chips

It's time to get Paul Stastny back in your fantasy lineup. The Colorado Avalanche's star center returned to the lineup Tuesday night after missing more than two months because of a fractured forearm. He had an assist in 24 minutes of ice time in a losing effort. … Thank your lucky stars if you are a Tomas Vokoun owner. He wasn't in net for Florida's 6-1 loss to Boston because of an illness, and therefore had his ratios spared from the Bruins' offensive onslaught. Vokoun has been lights-out of late, winning six of his past nine starts, highlighted by a 41-save shutout of Boston and a 42-save shutout victory over Carolina. … Speaking of goalies, Jean-Sebastien Giguere is looking good again. He has played brilliantly in his past two starts, allowing only three goals in total, and should easily be able to fend off Jonas Hiller down the stretch. … Familiarity is a good thing for Jeff Carter, who had gone five games without scoring a goal until his marker midway through the third period Tuesday. Coach John Stevens had juggled his lines, but with Carter struggling sans his regular linemates, the coach decided to go back to the usual setup with his talented center back on a line with Scott Hartnell and Joffrey Lupul. The move paid off. … It's time for Carey Price owners to handcuff his backup, Jaroslav Halak. Price was benched again Tuesday, and Halak didn't disappoint on the ice, racking up 34 saves en route to his first shutout of the season. Coach Guy Carbonneau said Halak will be back in net Friday night. … Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown was not with the team Tuesday for their trip to Minnesota. No need to worry, though; this is not Alexei Kovalev revisited. Brown stayed home with his wife Nicole, who is expecting to give birth to the couple's second child. … Another day, another impressive start for the Blues' Chris Mason. Go pick him up now before your league mates catch on. … The Jarome Iginla you invested so heavily in to start the season is back. Iggy had four points in a win over Columbus and has four goals over his past four games, following a slump in which he had only two goals in 19 games. … Sheldon Souray had a two-goal night in Edmonton's win over Tampa Bay. He now has 17 goals on the season. … Sidney Crosby was forced to leave Penguins practice because of a sore groin but is expected to play Wednesday against the Islanders.


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