The first pre-season game has come and gone with the Sens losing 3-1 to the Florida Panthers. The exhibition game, played in Halifax, doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things as neither side brought along some of their big guns. Notably absent for Ottawa were Alfie, Spezza and Tsar Alex, as well as new acquisitions Cheechoo and Michalek. The roster for the game clearly shows that Clouston wants to see some of his younger players in action. Training camp is far from over and there are battles for some of the remaining slots.

Notable is a blue-line battle between Alex Picard and Erik Karlsson for the defence slots. With Philips, Volchenkov, Kuba, and Campoli a shoe-in, this leaves two slots available for Lee, Picard, and Karlsson. Lee already has a lot of experience with the Sens and did well last season. Lee is a good offensive d-man, and has the potential to be a top four blueliner, but needs to use his big frame more effectively to intimidate the opposition in his own zone. Picard showed he really wants a slot by scoring the only goal for the Sens, and diving to prevent a Michal Repik break-away on Ottawa net-minder Pascal Leclaire. I like Picard’s chances of securing a spot on the blue line. Erik Karlsson looked good throughout as well, and registered an assist on the lone Ottawa goal. As Ottawa’s top draft pick, I expect the front office will want him to get as many chances as possible to make the team and pay off early for Bryan Murray. In the end, it will be a toss-up as to who gets the defensive slots.

My money is on Lee and Picard securing those roles because of their past big league experience, but it would be a tenuous hold. A little seasoning for Karlsson with the Baby Sens in Binghamton would do him no harm, and he would immediately be available should either Lee or Picard falter early in the season.

Ongoing goalie worries

The Sens management and coaching is still worried about goaltending, and it showed when they started training camp with no less than six goaltenders on the roster. Granted, they have acquired an “elite” goaltender in Pascal Leclaire, but he is returning from ankle surgery that sidelined him last January. Leclaire hadn’t played a game since December of 2008 and the rust clearly showed last night in Halifax. Leclaire stopped 14 of 16 shots for a save percentage of just .875. Leclaire let in two goals in the 30 minutes he was on ice, which is a potential 4.0 GA average if you do the math over a whole 60-minute game; nothing to write home about.

In contrast goalie Robin Lehner continues to impress with his poise and speed, letting in only one goal on 13 shots, and making a spectacular glove save to rob the Panthers of a fourth goal in the third. His save percentage stands at .929, which is right up there with the best in the league. Of course, he’s an unproven quantity and I expect a bit of time in Binghamton is in his future. But if I was in backup goalie Brian Elliott’s shoes, I’d be a tad worried about this kid.

I expect Clouston will give Elliott a shot between the pipes during the pre-season and draw a quick comparison between Lehner and Elliott. The latter had better bring out his A-game if he wants any chance of remaining as the backup goalie to Leclaire. I anticipate that the Sens’ goalie woes will soon be behind them, once Leclaire has cleared the rust from his system, and the backup slot is firmed up. My bet is on a Leclair/Lehner pairing, but I’ve been wrong before.

Coming soon: A look at the forward line-ups