Silver Nuggets: Which is More Likely Series: Bishop vs Regin

Welcome everyone to day 9 of the WIML Nuggets series of Ottawa Senators player predictions. Sadly we are nearing the end of this series, as only 6 players remain to us! Yesterday, in the closest vote yet our beautiful and intelligent community decided it was more likely that Daniel Alfredsson finished the season in the top 4 in scoring than it was that Chris Phillips would play at least 18 minutes per night (not per season). The people have spoken, and none better than user whereverjustice who goes with math, which is always a way to my heart:

I voted Alfie

He was fourth in points this year, but second in points per game. And the gap between him and 5th place (Foligno) was substantial — Alfie had .79 P/G to Foligno’s .57 – nearly 40% more production. Last year’s 5th place in Foligno is gone, and Silfverberg or Zibanejad would need to have Calder-calibre numbers to even approach Alfie’s points total from last season.

Philips, on the other hand, falls below 18 minutes if he loses just 6% of his playing time. With Cowen progressing comfortably, that seems very likely.

However I suspect that many of you voted based on the wisdom of spez_dispenser, who goes all Alfie-lover on us:

Never vote against Alfie.

Never.

Never ever.

Never ever ever.

This poll could have read "Who will have more saves, Craig Anderson or Daniel Alfredsson?" Guess who I’d have picked.

Alfie.

You never vote against Alfie.

Today we look at two players who were not on the roster for the majority of the 2011-2012 season but who both figure to play important roles on this year's edition of the Senators: Peter Regin and Ben Bishop. Without further ado, here is the question for today:

Which is more likely? That Ben Bishop finishes the season with a save percentage better than .915 OR the Peter Regin finishes the season with more than 40 points?

Bishop: In 10 games last season, Bishop performed admirably, posting a .909 save percentage, much higher than the .884 that the Senators had been getting from Alex Auld. Bishop figures to get a bigger work load this season, can he improve his save percentage to over .915 and become an extremely dependable backup?

Regin: Peter has had a hell of a time playing games the last couple of seasons. He played only 10 games last season, yet he had 4 points in those ten games. He is the kind of player that Paul MacLean likes. He is a good skater, a two-way player and he likes to possess the puck. He can play anywhere in the lineup adequately. Will this be the season he shows his offensive potential?

There you have it, now which one do you think is more likely? Looking forward to comments, but please, for Mark's sanity sake, try to make an argument that does not include "injury-prone".

Links!

Sens News

• Peter asks us whether we think the Senators should pursue his man crush Dan Boyle of the San Jose Sharks. While I would love to see him here, and he is an Ottawa boy, I'm not sure the Senators have the pieces to make the kind of deal the Sharks will be looking for. [SSS]
• Some feeling out there that Alfie will be returning, and apparently is working on a 1 year extension with the Sens. Amazing news if true. [6thSens]
• One of my favourite prospects, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, is looking to make his transition to pro hockey this season with the B-Sens. I cannot wait to see how he does. He is such a gifted skater, and so good with the puck. If he can be as elusive as Erik Karlsson or Danny Briere, he could be a player for us one day. [Sens]
• Nichols looks at Bobby Butler as a potential buy-out candidate now that the Senators have signed yet another bottom-six forward to a one-way deal in Kaspars Daugavins. I think it makes sense to see if he will bounce back yet or not. [6thSens]
• Welcome to Your Karlsson Years takes a look at the whole Rick Nash situation, which was a confusing one for sure for Sens fans. No doubt he could've helped the team right now, but at what price, and for how long? [WTYKY]

League News

Which is more likely?