FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Well that was unexpected. From the moment the puck dropped in Dallas last night you could see just how skilled this Stars team really is. They were buzzing in the first period and seemed to always have a first line quality group on the ice. Bend but don’t break isn’t exactly a text book style of defence but you sort of have no choice when you take on an elite team like the Stars. Give Ottawa a ton of credit though. Even though they were outshot by a fair margin, I thought they did a damn good job of going toe to toe with the Stars. And not many teams in the league can say they have done that this season.
-You see the thing about shot quality, is it really does matter. I mean not in the sense that it can be a long-term predictor of future success. The teams that get the most shots generally have the puck the most and therefore, win the most. But on a game to game basis, the quality of your scoring chances absolutely matters. And the Senators had some good ones last night. Three breakaways (Ryan, Pageau, Pageau), a turnover and clean look (Stone), and a couple of rocket shots from quality shooting areas (Michalek, Hoffman). I’ll take those kind of chances over weak wrist shots from the outside every night.
-I’m still sort of shaking my head at that Alex Chiasson bank pass. Not just the fact that it worked but more so that Chiasson even thought to try it. At first glance, I was sue Chiasson had room up the middle or even on the flip play but give Chiasson credit for seeing a play that nobody else did in that situation. Or ever for that matter? When’s the last time you saw a guy sprung on a breakaway with a pass like that? Incredible.
-You don’t want to give too much credit to a goalie on a night where his team scores seven and he gives up four but Craig Anderson did make some big stops. That third period felt all too familiar and seemed like it might get away from the Senators. And not necessarily because of anything they were doing wrong but just because that Dallas team is that good. If that game gets to 6-5 with a couple minutes left we may be having a much different conversation this morning. Anderson’s stop on Jamie Benn was as good as it gets.
-It’s pretty incredible that just last week I mentioned in a post that the Senators were tied for last place in the league with just five regulation wins. They are now up to 8 which is still sort of middle of the road but if you’re looking for a positive spin on things- only the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers have fewer regulation losses than the Senators. Ottawa sits 6th overall in the entire league. Bobby Ryan remains hot. Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman are heating up again. They are getting secondary scoring from lines three and four. When this Ottawa team is clicking, they are pretty tough to beat.
