Ottawa Senators Report: Of Pop Stars and Strippers

While the rest of the Senators took to the ice for practice, Pascal Leclaire instead applied ice, beginning the slow process of rehabbing from a groin injury.

While speaking to reporters, the oft-injured Leclaire shared his disappointment in suffering another injury.

"I just kicked my leg out and I heard a little pop," said a disappointed Leclaire. "To me, it was almost like a routine save. I felt great in warm-up, and being in the game I didn't feel stiff at all. Maybe it was an awkward kick or something like that. I'm not really sure. " 

Unlike pop and corn, pop and groin are not good together, no matter how much butter you add.

To date there is no clear timetable on his return. Pascal will not join the Sens on their road trip to Montreal or Pittsburgh, but he was hopeful the injury will not be long-term, adding, "I can walk all right (today), so we'll see"

In Leclaire's absence from the locker room, rookie goaltender Robin Lehner will get a chance to put his freshly minted U.S. work visa to good use. Here's hoping Brian Elliott plays well enough to keep Robin on the bench, or else I'll have to dust off the ready-made "Ottawa Goaltender Controversy" story.

The other pop star making headlines today is Nicky "The Chin" Foligno.   

After Foligno popped Patrick Dwyer with a nice open-ice hit, the league has chosen to punish The Chin's defensive play with a paltry but precedent-setting $2,500.00 USD fine. That's going to seriously cut into his Rue St. Catherine lap dance budget.

Sorry Janelle, I couldn't resist—no doubt he'll return to his room immediately after the game and, with the help of Peter Regin, begin sorting through the sample invitations you sent along for his consideration while on the road.

I, for one, wholly understand the need for the league review of the hit. It was a lateral, blind-side hit, and due to Dwyer's leaning out for the puck, it made contact with his head.

However, I'm left wondering what Foligno was supposed to do instead of making physical contact. It is a hockey game after all, right? Was he supposed to just sweep his stick? Unfortunately this would do nothing to mitigate the fact Dwyer was moving in the same direction as the puck and away from Foligno's line of trajectory.

I believe, rightly or wrongly, the hit Foligno made, and the force with which it was applied, was entirely within the spirit of the game and was not "predatory."

To be fair, I contrast this with the hit by Chris Neil on Chris Drury of several seasons ago. Although deemed legal at the time, there is no doubt Neil's hit had considerably more force, and unlike Foligno's hit on Dwyer, it came after Drury had released the puck, greatly diminishing the defensive value of the hit compared to that of Foligno's.

Foligno separated Dwyer from the puck, which is exactly the intention of allowing contact in the game. He didn't bury him, as he could have. If doing this, in a controlled fashion, is still considered illegal, what is the reasoning behind allowing a player to be hit along the boards three seconds after he has released the puck? Don't say the risk of injury, because a lot of players are injured when checked along the boards—I'd bet more than in open ice hits.

Do we really believe every player hit along the boards is aware of the incoming check? No way, so that's not the issue either. I truly think, in the hopes of looking committed to player safety, the league went from good, honourable intention to blatant over-reaction. 

To me, Foligno's hit should have been promoted as an example of the perfect time and way to throw an open ice hit in order to make a sound defensive play. Alas, the league has once again failed to establish any clear definition for hitting in the game, or at least a definition that stands up to the test of reason.