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Maybe we need to start calling it "Kassian Karma." Whenever Matt Kassian plays, the Ottawa Senators seem to pick up points and when the winger isnt in the lineup, they have struggled. The Sens forward has dressed for roughly half of the games this season and the contrasting record when he is in and out of the lineup is rather remarkable. They have lost only three times in regulation out of the 24 games that Kassian has been a part of, posting a 13-3-8 record. But when Kassian doesnt play, they have a woeful 8-16-1 record in 25 games. On Monday, I approached Kassian to see if he was aware of the teams outstanding record with him in the lineup. "Yeah I knew," Kassian said immediately. "When you are a guy who goes in and out of the lineup, you pay attention to things like that. You want to be a guy that, when youre in the lineup, the team has success. Its been fortunate for me that so far we have." The simple explanation would be that perhaps the Senators skilled forwards feel like they have a little more room to operate on a night when Kassian is sitting on their bench. Maybe the opposition is a little less inclined to take liberties with Ottawa players if they have to answer to Kassian. But even Kassian agrees that is likely an oversimplification of the situation. "There are probably more factors to it than just that," he said. "You hope its because the team has an identity where theyre going to go out and play and just get things done and maybe give them some confidence. Thats what you hope for." Other Sens players cant necessarily identify the phenomenon, either. "I dont know the real reason for it, other than weve timed our games well and hes played well when hes played," explains captain Jason Spezza. "Hes a guy that when he plays, hes a physical presence out there. He understands his role and hes done a really good job of just keeping things simple when he plays. But its also strange that Ottawas record would be so good with Kassian in the lineup, considering he hardly sees the ice when he plays. He averages 4:23 of ice-time per game – although that number has been slightly north of six minutes per game in the month of January. In a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in December, Kassian played just 1:05 and followed that up with just 2:20 of ice time in the next game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Remarkably, the Sens picked up three out of a possible four points in those games. "It depends on the night. Some of those nights where I havent played there have been a lot of penalties and special teams – and I dont play on special teams. Instantly, that cuts it down," says Kassian. "And the guys who need to play 5-on-5 are your big guys, so there could be some weird nights like that. Especially at the start of the season when we basically had a parade to the penalty box." It turns out that Kassians limited ice time may actually benefit the other 11 forwards, who often see increased ice time on those nights. While many people like to see their team roll four lines consistently, it appears as though this years edition of the Sens seem to thrive on the nights when they are playing with three-and-a-half lines. "Its better for me. I prefer when I play more, I think I play better," said Spezza. "If you play more when hes in the lineup, that might help everybody a little bit. But he really understands his role and he does a good job. He gets some good shifts early in the game and if they shorten the bench, hes fine with it I think." There is also the matter of the Senators being a perfect 5-0-0 when Kassian drops the gloves and fights this season. "I would expand on that and say look at our teams record as a whole when we fight, whether its me or someone else," said Kassian. "That might just be preparedness and being engaged in the game as a team – not just me as an individual. When were aggressive and ready to play, when were ready to fight – not that you have to – those are the games that were more invested in emotionally." For the record, the Sens are 5-5-1 in games when someone other than Kassian gets into a fight. So once again, the "Kassian Karma" seems to be in effect when it comes to this realm as well. In any event, Kassian cant put his finger on exactly why his team is so much more successful when he plays and when he fights – although he is hoping his rugged style does rub off on his teammates. "You hope its a general identity and an attitude the team has that you help them with when youre in the lineup and thats the reason," said Kassian. The Sens are back in action on Tuesday night when they visit the Washington Capitals, a team theyve enjoyed recent mastery over, having won their last six encounters. You can catch all the action live on TSN at 7pm et/4pm pt. Air Max Tailwind 7 . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Nike Air Max 2016 Sale . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. http://www.airmax2016sale.nl/nike-air-max-nederland.html . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Nike Air Max Thea Zwart Sale . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. Nike Air Max Aanbieding Dames .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again.TORONTO -- Already missing David Clarkson, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have to get through at least the next two weeks without Nikolai Kulemin, as well. Kulemin is out with a bone chip in his ankle suffered when he blocked a shot in practice Friday. "Its just a small bone broken in the ankle," coach Randy Carlyle said. "To say its not a significant injury would be incorrect. Its one of those things." The 27-year-old right-winger could have played on the injured ankle for a month because it wasnt a displaced fracture, Carlyle said, but the team and doctors decided not to talk that chance. Kulemin is wearing a walking boot to immobilize the ankle. The Leafs called up Spencer Abbott from the AHLs Toronto Marlies to take Kulemins spot alongside Joffrey Lupul and Nazem Kadri beginning with Saturday nights home opener against the Ottawa Senators. "He had a strong training camp for us and when he went back to the Marlies in the two exhibition games, from their coaching staffs advice, he was clearly the best player on the ice," Carlyle said. "So in our minds, thats what we asked for: Who was the best player in the situation when we lost Kulemin and we need a player thats going to come in and play higher in our lineup than what we have here, so weve done that." AA couple of weeks ago it looked like the Leafs wouldnt have any shortage of options.dddddddddddd Clarkson was slated to play big minutes on the right side, but the free-agent acquisition wont be available to play until Oct. 25 at the Columbus Blue Jackets after being suspended for the first 10 regular-season games for leaving the bench to enter an altercation in the pre-season. Toronto traded Joe Colborne, who would have likely been the top option to replace Kulemin, to the Calgary Flames for a fourth-round pick. The cap-strapped Leafs would have had to put the 23-year-old through waivers and risk losing him for nothing if they kept him around but he did not remain on the NHL roster. But those moves put the team in even more of a bind with Kulemin shelved. His spot on the penalty kill will have to be filled by committee, with Carlyle mentioning James van Riemsdyk, Dave Bolland, Mason Raymond, Carter Ashton, Troy Bodie and even Tyler Bozak as options. "Were going to need other people to step up and fill those minutes because as far as our first penalty-killing (forward) pair it was Kulemin and (Jay) McClement, so now we have to have somebody else step into that role," the Leafs coach said. Kulemin had two assists in the Leafs first two games of the season. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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