There is no question when it comes to scoring that the Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley line dominate almost all the time. Sometimes considered unfair, they play a game so impressive, other teams try to do just about everything to stop them. Anaheim found a line to shake Murray enough to split the ASH line, which cost them the cup, and this concerns me.
During last year, Dany Heatley and the Senators excelled without Jason Spezza in the lineup. While most would expect them to break apart without their star centre, Ottawa actually dominated without him, and have gone on quite a streak during the times he has been sidelined. One thing does change when he is not in the lineup, and that is Dany Heatley’s production.
Recently, Spezza was sidelined because of a groin injury, and Heatley picked up his passing, gaining Spezza like numbers in assists, but struggled in the goal column, scoring only one goal in seven games. While this doesn’t mean anything bad for the Senators, as someone is getting the goals, it does mean that Heatley is no longer on pass to score another fifty goals this season, which is realistically what everyone hopes he will do.
Blame it on his efforts in the assist column, or blame it on unfortunate luck, such as the one timers that have hit the post, or the penalties he forces the other teams to take instead of letting him walk in alone on the goaltender. One thing is for sure, Dany Heatley is still playing quality hockey, just not the kind of hockey everyone was expecting. With 24 points in 18 games, Heatley is on pace for a 109 point season, which in any form is a successful year, which again proves that he is not in a scoring slump at all.
This all proves that having Spezza in the lineup does not necessarily benefit the Senators in general, but it benefits Dany Heatley’s goal production. Spezza had 12 assists to start the season, and he likely assisted on quite a few of Heatley’s 8 goals prior to Spezza’s injury. Now that Spezza is back in the lineup, Heatley is still getting the assists and is back to his scoring ways, netting a goal against rival Montreal on Monday night.
Let’s get to the point here. Alfredsson spent zero time at even strength playing with Heatley and Spezza, yet the duo combined for three of the four goals scored. Alfredsson connected with Patrick Eaves on a struggling powerplay on the fourth goal, and the line with Alfredsson held constant pressure on the Montreal defense all game long.
So who replaced Alfie on the top line? Chris Kelly and Chris Neil. Kelly, a diverse player who rarely disappoints, was constantly forcing the play into the zone with strong forechecking and plenty of skating. Neil on the other hand, pressed the puck deep with his physical play and scored a goal from a great effort by Spezza and Heatley. Not only that, Neil made a great pass between his legs to Heatley in the front of the net which allowed Heatley to score and break his goal scoring drought.
So what exactly is the top line missing? Why is there such a need to bulk up the top line of every team with the best players? Ottawa can easily survive without the big three together, as long as they fill in the gaps appropriately. They still have room to sign a 6 million dollar player to a half year contract, and they have options if they want to deal a goalie for even more room. Don’t break what you created on Monday night Paddock, because it is running just fine.
