Senators Grind Out Another Win

SensChirp February 19, 2016 1,570
Senators Grind Out Another Win

FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS

-A ten game win streak has to start somewhere, I suppose.  This was a much better sixty minute effort from the Senators and they certainly deserved to come away with the two points.  Heading into this week, there was a lot of talk about this being a last chance for the Sens.  If they were going to have any chance of crawling back into the Eastern Conference playoff chase, they had to take care of business on home ice.  So far, so good.  We aren’t even at the point where it matters what other teams are doing yet though.  Just keep winning.  The Red Wings are in town on Saturday then the Sens head on the road for three straight against the Oilers, Canucks and Flames.

-Alex Chiasson has taken a lot of heat this season and frankly, it has mostly been deserved.  While the effort level has always been there, he just hasn’t been able to produce.  He has sort of become the poster boy for the struggles of the bottom six.  Which is why it was so nice to see him finally get on the board last night.  There haven’t been many to choose from but I thought this was one of the better games of the season for Chiasson.  He finished with a goal and a couple shots in 10:55 of ice time.

-Another game, another two assists for Erik Karlsson.  The guy is just ridiculous. There’s no other way to describe it at this point.  I find that like five or six times a night I find myself in complete disbelief of the things he is able to do out there, both on offence and defence.  The mainstream media is falling all over themselves to force Drew Doughty into the Norris conversation but with Karlsson, you don’t have to work so hard to convince yourself he’s the best defenceman in the game. All you have to do is watch.

-And speaking of the blueline, things have looked quite stable back there since the arrival of Dion Phaneuf.  Phaneuf instantly gives the Senators a legitimate second pairing defenceman and while the sample size is small, he seems to be bringing out the best in Cody Ceci.  There were signs Ceci was getting his game together before the Phaneuf trade but he looks even more comfortable now.  I said it shortly after the deal was made- I don’t know if it’s going to be enough this season but Phaneuf is exactly what this blueline was missing.  Just a great trade by Bryan Murray.

-It’s going to be interesting to see how Dave Cameron handles the return of Mark Borowiecki.  Based on what we heard yesterday, Borowiecki is getting close to a return and could be ready to play as early as Saturday night.  Patrick Wiercioch and Chris Wideman are the candidates to come out of the line up but honestly, I liked the way those two looked last night.  I know the Senators have a hard time with the idea of scratching Mark Borowiecki and I get it.  Nobody works harder than Boro.  I’m not necessairly saying he should be an automatic scratch, but just part of the rotation with Wiericoch and Wideman.