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Just over a week until the start of the season, its almost impossible to get a feel for how the Ottawa Senators will look. This is probably tied into the fact that their expected results and actual results have been all over the place over the last three years - the first two with Ottawa handily beating low expectations and the Senators woefully underperforming lofty dark horse talk last season. The general consensus for this season is that the team will struggle to beat last years 88-point total, primarily due to the fact that replacement options for Jason Spezza seem limited. Two of the three pieces in the trade that moved Spezza to Dallas will not play in the NHL this season, while the third - Alex Chiasson - is penciled in as a second/third-line winger. The franchise knows the difficulty of replacing such a prominent scorer, but believes theyll be a better team down the road after the three-for-one swap. Though the team was guarded in talking about Spezzas departure, I found it interesting how the team was using him last season. Despite being the face of the franchise and the highest-paid player on the team, head coach Paul MacLean deployed Spezza as the teams second-line centre. And he did this frequently. The emergence of Kyle Turris as a bona fide top-six pivot certainly helped things along, but it was fascinating to see the paradigm quietly shift during last season. Take, for example, a comparison of Turris and Spezzas teammates last year. Intuitively, first-line centres should enjoy more talented teammates - the trio earning decisive ice-time and, by virtue of deployment, facing tougher waves of competition. That said, Ive compiled quality of teammate numbers (based on ice time) for each centre and graphed it (first graph) using a 10-game rolling average. The higher the number, the better the teammate (Turris in blue, Spezza in red). If you watched a lot of Ottawa last season, the fact that Turris saw a better assortment of teammates than Spezza shouldnt be surprising. Turris played 75 per cent of his minutes with Clarke MacArthur, 66 per cent of his minutes with Bobby Ryan, and about 50 per cent of his minutes with Erik Karlsson. On the other hand, the only other regular forward Jason Spezza played with was the older Milan Michalek - Spezza played about 69 per cent of his minutes with the aging winger. As for the brief inversion of the teammate quality in the above graph, it can be explained in two words: Ales Hemsky. Ottawa acquired Hemsky at the deadline and put him on Spezzas wing, and the two made beautiful magic in their brief time together. That brief stretch aside, it was clear Spezza was getting second-rate forwards, at least relative to the younger Turris. We know how Paul MacLean assembled the lineup. But, how did other teams react to Paul MacLeans lineup assembly? Lets focus on the quality of competition each center faced on the left graph, again in rolling 10-game averages. The second graph (Turris in blue, Spezza in red) is best captured in one statement. Teams viewed the MacArthur-Turris-Ryan line as Ottawas biggest threat. Spezzas line generally saw weaker competition than Turris line and it would seem rather clear that part of it was due to the fact that Turris was surrounded by better wingers. Spezza, less so. This also makes sense if you consider that, after the Senators acquired Ales Hemsky, Spezzas line started to see a comparable or tougher wave of relative competition. Ultimately, replacing Spezzas production - his 2.22 points/60 was good for 25th in the league last year, a very respectable number - will prove difficult in the short-term for MacLean. But I think part of solving this issue is properly isolating the question. Ottawas going to need massive efforts from centres Mika Zibanejad, David Legwand, and Zack Smith this year as they attempt to mitigate the loss of Spezza and his 18-plus minutes from their lineup. The trickle-down effect is real and seeing if those who are replacing Spezzas minutes - especially the young Zibanejad - will be game to handle an increased workload is going to be one of the coaching staffs biggest challenges. Theres also the massive absence on the power play, where Spezzas magical playmaking ability and corresponding ice-time will be sorely missed. One question that doesnt need to be answered, though, is how to replace the loss of a first-line centre. Ottawa subtly answered that question one season ago. Cheap Sneakers Online Canada . -- Once again, Carlos Santana was a huge hit in Kansas City. Sneaker Websites Canada . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. http://www.cheapsneakerscanada.com/. In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Discount Sneakers Canada . The win puts Arsenal four points clear of Everton in fourth place with two games to play in the Premier League, a position which would qualify the club for Europes top competition for the 17th straight year. Sneakers Clearance Canada . The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Last month when the 76ers hosted the Trail Blazers, they were embarrassed by a barrage of 3-pointers. Since then Philadelphia has made some defensive adjustments. It showed on Saturday night when the Sixers paid back the Blazers in Portland by beating them 101-99. It was Philadelphias fourth straight win to conclude a six-game road trip. "I give the guys so much credit for fixing the things that were so poor when we played them the last time," coach Brett Brown said. Thaddeus Young matched his season high with 30 points and the 76ers (12-21) displayed vastly improved defence in holding off a furious late rally by the Blazers (26-7). Evan Turner added 23 points and rookie star Michael Carter-Williams had 16, but fell hard on the court at the final buzzer when he was trying to keep Damian Lillard from scoring the game-tying basket. Carter-Williams appeared to hit his head and stayed down for several moments while his teammates held off their celebration. When he finally rose, he held his hand to his head. "He got hit in the head by Thaddeus," Brown said, adding that Carter-Williams was undergoing concussion tests and his condition was not immediately available. Portlands LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points and 14 rebounds for his 20th double-double this season. Robin Lopez added 14 points and 15 rebounds in just the Blazers fourth loss at home this season. Portland led 76-69 going into the fourth quarter, but Youngs layup tied it at 84 and Spencer Hawes added another to give the 76ers the lead. Tony Wroten hit a pair of baskets to make it 90-84 for Philadelphia, but Wesley Matthews, Lillard and Lopez all made free throws to tie the game at 90 with 2:32 left. Philadelphia held off the Blazers and Youngs tip-in gave the Sixers a 96-94 lead. Spencer Hawes made a pair of free throws to give the 76ers a 99-95 lead with 19.3 seconds left. But after Aldridge hit a layup and Turner made free throws, Lillards layup closed Portland to 101-99 with 7.9 seconds left. A steal by Robin Lopez gave Portland back the ball but Lillard missed a layup at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime. "I had a good look," LLillard said.dddddddddddd "Off-balance or not, Ive got to make that." On Dec. 14 when the Blazers visited Philadelphia they drained a franchise-best 21 3-pointers en route to a 139-105 victory. Carter-Williams did not play in that game because of a skin infection on his right knee. Portland matched the franchise record on Thursday, when they had 21 3s in a 134-104 rout over the Charlotte Bobcats. It was the first time a team has had at least 20 3-pointers in two games in a single season. The NBA record for 3-pointers in a single game is 23. It appeared that this game could be similar 3-point clinic. The Blazers ranked atop the league with 349 3s this season and a 40.5 3-point percentage. But Portland made just three of 22 3-point attempts. "When I heard they hit like 21 the other night, you think of the law of averages. Sometimes the basketball god says Tonights not your night from the 3-point line," said Turner. The 76ers jumped out to an 18-4 lead midway through the first half on Thaddeus Youngs dunk. Portland was sloppy, with five turnovers in the first seven minutes, and had trouble adjusting to Philadelphias energetic tempo. But the Blazers chipped away, pulling to within 39-32 on Mo Williams long jumper. He added a 3-pointer to narrow the gap to 47-45, before Wesley Matthews fast-break layup tied it. Portland pulled in front on Aldridges jumper but the Sixers led 52-50 at the half. Portland led by nine points late in the third quarter, but the stubborn Sixers wouldnt let the Blazers go up by double digits. Wroten made a pair of free throws that got Philadelphia within 78-77 early in the final period. NOTES: With his first six points, Aldridge became the fourth-leading scorer in Trail Blazers history, passing Jerome Kersey (10,067). ... Portlands Nicolas Batum has had at least seven rebounds and seven assists eight times this year, second only to LeBron James with 11. ... After the game the Blazers said Batum sustained an avulsion fracture of his left middle finger, meaning a fragment pulled away from the bone, but he is still listed as probable for Tuesdays game at Sacramento. ... Young has at least 25 points in six of his last seven games. ' ' '