FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-It’s tough to know how to react to a game like this one. There’s really no arguing that over the course of the sixty minutes, the Philadelphia Flyers were the better team. They controlled the puck for long stretches and certainly generated the better scoring chances. But on the other hand, the Sens were up a couple goals towards the end of the second period and seemed to be in relative control. It all slipped away in the span of 60 seconds. This Ottawa team has played a lot of hockey lately so I suspect they’ll take points any way they can get them but they probably should have come away with two last night.
-Another day, another defenceman out of the line up. This condensed schedule is hard enough as it is but it’s even tougher when you’re essentially playing with 5 defenceman and 3 forward lines. Freddy Claesson left this game in the second period and did not return. The result was some seriously wacky ice time distribution including Cody Ceci finishing the night with more than 28 minutes. It should go without saying but that’s way too much ice time for Ceci. Borowiecki was close to 20 minutes. Sort of odd that Chris Wideman’s ice time was so low though (13:33). Among the forward group, the fourth line barely played at all- Lazar (9:00), Neil (6:48), McCormick (5:35). Boucher has wisely decided to give his team a full day off today.
-Mark Borowiecki has been noticeably improved to start this season. The Coaching Staff has him playing a more restrained game and he’s clearly a little more focused on playing his position and avoiding taking the penalties that often come with running around. He’s started to get away from that a little bit the last few games with last night being by far his worst game of the season. Every player is going to have ups and downs over the year so it will be interesting to see if the Coaches can get him back to where he was at through October and the first half of November.
-Watching a power play like the one that led to Mike Hoffman’s first period goal, it’s honestly tough to comprehend that those are the same players that struggled so badly earlier in the season. It’s clear that Boucher has put some additional emphasis on the power play lately and it’s starting to pay off. In a couple of his press conferences, Boucher talked about the fact that this Sens team has never really worked the low play before. Everything has run through Karlsson up top. They’re finally starting to mix in some different looks.
-During Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun mentioned that Pierre Dorion has been quietly scanning the trade market for a little help up front. LeBrun indicated specifically that it would be a 3rd or 4th line type of guy. Safe to assume that doesn’t necessarily mean another grinder type but rather a veteran guy who can add a little bit of a scoring threat to the bottom of the line up. Not easy to find and it certainly wouldn’t be a significant salary. Bruce Garrioch mentioned that the waiver wire is an option they’re considering.
Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
Boxscore
Advanced Stats
League Standings
Loading …
