FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-They don’t ask how, they ask how many. Or something like that. This certainly wasn’t pretty but the Senators came away with an important two points. There are obviously no easy games in the league anymore but with the Vancouver Canucks on a back to back, this was a game Ottawa should have won and they did. They really didn’t generate much in the way of offence but they didn’t give up much either.
-And while the Senators were pretty sharp defensively, Mike Condon did make a handful of big saves, especially in the third period when the Canucks were pressing for that tying goal. He was really sharp all game, battling to find pucks through traffic and controlling rebounds well. It’s not clear how long Hammond will be out or how often Anderson will need to be away but it’s certainly comforting to have a guy like Condon as an insurance policy. Pretty tough spot he was put in last night and he came through in a big way.
-I think we all knew that Guy Boucher was going to bring an improved defensive structure but I don’t think anybody thought they would be this good, this fast. From the beginning of the trip through Western Canada, you could really see a difference in how this team is playing defensively. They’ve given up just one goal in their last three games now bringing their average down to 2.6 a game over the course of the season. And while goaltending has been a huge reason for the decrease in goals against, they’ve also done a great job cutting down on shots on goal over this recent stretch.
-Hopefully this is an indication that the flood gates are about the open for Mike Hoffman. He was snake-bitten in the early part of the season but now has two goals in three games and finally seems to be getting some breaks in his favour. He scored the game’s only goal last night, had 5 shots on goal and played a season-high 22:12. The Senators haven’t exactly been filling the net lately so they could definitely use a little goal-scoring run from Hoffman.
-He was held off the score sheet last night and only registered one shot on goal but I really liked Erik Karlsson’s game last night. We’ve seen a slightly more restrained Karlsson so far this season but his play in his own end of the rink has been terrific. He’s noticeably more physical than in previous seasons and seems to be taking pride in his defensive play. Boucher has mentioned it a few times but Karlsson has clearly embraced the Coach’s system and is really leading by example. Oh and he also leads the team with 9 points in 10 games.
–Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
–Boxscore
–Advanced Stats
–Upcoming Schedule
