FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-No excuses. That’s a game the Ottawa Senators should have won. The game was fairly even through 20 minutes but the Sens had complete control of the game after two. They were guilty of sitting back in the third period and a fast, skilled and frankly surprisingly good Devils team made them pay. While the tying goal came on a bit of a lucky bounce, it felt like it was only a matter of time at that point. The Senators were out shot to the tune of 15-9 in the third period and 46-33 in the game. Banking another loser point on home ice isn’t much consultation when the second one slips through your fingers.
-So about that overtime line up. The idea of playing it safe in OT is not a new one with Guy Boucher but last night may have been the most dramatic example yet. With a fresh Erik Karlsson ready to go and top forwards like Stone, Ryan, Brassard, Hoffman and Turris all available, the Coach rolled out a trio of Pageau, Pyatt and Ceci. His explanation being that he wanted to slow down the Devils to start the OT and then counter with his best guys. Unfortunately that strategy doesn’t work if your best players don’t touch the ice. And actually, that strategy just doesn’t make sense. With that single point in the bank, you should always play to win in overtime. There is no defending or sitting back at 3 on 3. Or at least there shouldn’t be.
-Beyond the issue with Boucher’s overtime philosophy and starting “safe”, there’s a pretty good argument to be made that all three of the players out there for the overtime shouldn’t be part of the regular rotation. You can use a forward line up of Brassard, Turris, Stone, Ryan, Hoffman and Dzingel and then ideally alternate between Karlsson and Wideman on defence. When it gets to 3 on 3, there’s no clogging up the neutral zone or playing to a particular structure. You need possession of the puck and your best offensive players are the best guys to give you that. Here’s hoping Boucher learned a lesson last night.
-What’s especially frustrating about the decision to sit Erik Karlsson to start the overtime is it just had that feel of a game where he was going to win it for them. Even when the Devils tied it with about five minutes left in the game, it felt like Ottawa still had a shot to get it back because this was one of those nights where Karlsson seemed to be finding that extra gear. His first game of the regular season was mostly uneventful but he was closer to his usual self last night. Three assists and a team-high 8 shots on goal in just over 27 minutes of work.
-For the most part, it has been a quiet start to the season for Alex Burrows. He had just the one assist through the first six games of the season and while he’s usually reliable defensively and is one of the few guys that goes to the net consistently, he hadn’t been rewarded for it until last night. Burrows hasn’t done the pest thing with much regularity since arriving here in Ottawa but it was on full display against the Devils. He was a thorn in their side all night.
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