The Road To The Show Presented by Liberty Travel

By Jared Abbott for JackalsHockey.com

ELMIRA, N.Y. - As the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils, and the AHL's Binghamton Senators and Albany Devils, the Jackals are tasked with developing prospects throughout the organizations. The Road To The Show presented by Liberty Travel provides details on how those prospects are progressing.

Ottawa Senators (NHL) – Ottawa continued its average play with another middle-of-the-road week. A loss on November 19 at Philadelphia dropped the Sens a game below .500. Currently sitting sixth in the Atlantic Division with an 8-9-4 record is not what many envisioned after last year’s success. The Senators three-game winning streak from November 5 to November 9 has been the high point of the season thus far. Ottawa followed the success with a 1-3 stretch. Craig Anderson made his return November 12 from a neck injury and was rudely welcomed by the visiting Philadelphia Flyers in a 5-0 Senators loss. In three games since returning Anderson is 1-2 and conceded the net to Robin Lehner last night. Lehner’s stellar play this season provides the Senators with a solid 1-2 punch in net. Erik Condra was activated off the injured reserve list on Sunday. Ottawa now has a clean bill of health with no other current injuries. Mark Borowiecki has found a home on the Sens blueline since Ottawa recalled him from Binghamton on November 2. His tenacious, physical play has been on display each night and he earned his first NHL goal November 7 against Montreal.

Binghamton Senators (AHL) – While the parent club is having a tough time righting the ship, Binghamton has been on fire. Saturday’s 7-3 victory over Rochester gave the B-Sens their sixth consecutive win, which is the longest current winning streak in the AHL. The Senators currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with an 11-4 record. The goaltending tandem of Nathan Lawson and Andrew Hammond has provided Binghamton with a solid backend. Hammond held down the fort while Lawson was in Ottawa. He made 31 saves Saturday and moved to 4-3-0 for the year. Lawson has a sparkling 7-1 record with a 2.29 goals-against-average and a .934 save percentage. Lawson’s 48-save performance on Friday was the latest stanza in his season’s symphony. Mike Hoffman, who had a brief stint with Elmira in 2010-11, is riding a six-game point streak and currently leads the B-Sens with 19 points in 15 games. Ludwig Karlsson was reassigned from Ottawa to Elmira from Binghamton on November 20.

New Jersey Devils (NHL) – New Jersey has sifted through a host of injuries over the past couple of weeks. Yet, the Devils continue to improve and currently sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a 7-8-5 record. New Jersey is 6-3-1 in its last ten. Patrik Elias, who has missed six games with an upper body injury, returned to the lineup November 16. Ryane Clowe remains on injured reserve with a head injury, as does Bryce Salvador who has a stress fracture in his foot. Anton Volchenkov was placed on injured reserve Monday with a leg injury retroactive to November 12. Stephen Gionta is hobbled with an ankle injury and remains questionable. Jon Merrill returned to Albany Monday after he missed the last two weeks due to an injury. The ageless wonder that is Jaromir Jagr scored twice in Saturday’s win against Pittsburgh. Jagr’s seven goals and 16 points are both team highs. The Devils embark on a three-game road trip in California this week.

Albany Devils (AHL) – It has been an ebb and flow start to the Devils’ campaign. Albany opened the year with a strong 5-1-0-1 mark but then dropped the next four games. The Devils improved their record to 9-6-0-1 with wins in their last three games and currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference. Much of their recent resurgence is courtesy of Keith Kinkaid. The goaltending stalwart was selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 17. Kinkaid was stellar last week and posted a 3-0-0 record with a 0.97 goals-against-average and a .963 save percentage. The third-year pro has a record of 6-1-1 and ranks second in the AHL with a 1.97 goals-against-average. Raman Hrabarenka earned his first two AHL points this season in the same game on November 11. Riley Boychuk scored his first goal with Albany Friday, November 15, which turned out to be the game-winner. Harry Young was reassigned by New Jersey from Elmira to Albany on November 15. Jon Merrill returned from New Jersey on Monday after he was sidelined for two weeks due to an injury suffered during his third shift of his NHL debut on Nov. 3.