FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-He’s been getting a ton of recognition for his play recently but it still doesn’t seem like enough. Craig Anderson is on some kind of run right now. We all marvelled at his performance in Edmonton, shutting out one of the league’s top ranked offences under extraordinary circumstances. Maybe the most amazing thing is that he hasn’t missed a beat since then. This is probably the best stretch of hockey Anderson has played in his career as an Ottawa Senator and he’s only furthering his case as the best goalie in franchise history. He’s allowed more than two goals only once in his last eight starts and now has a .934 sv% on the year.
-Can’t say enough good things about the play of Kyle Turris right now. At a time when so many of the team’s top players are slumping, Turris has almost single-handedly carried the Ottawa offence and in consecutive games, rescued them from a regulation defeat. Turris now has an impressive eight goals on the year and is on pace for the most productive season of his NHL career. We complain a lot about missteps by previous General Managers but don’t spend nearly enough time on the moves they get right. The trade for Kyle Turris was a spectacular move by Bryan Murray.
-If the Senators season could be summed up in a single play, it would be that 2 on 0 overtime break with Erik Karlsson and Kyle Turris. I mean, those wouldn’t be the two players I’d select to perfectly portary how Ottawa’s offence has been going lately but the image of two guys passing it back and forth on a two man breakaway and not getting a shot on goal is just kind of the way things are going right now. Guys need to be more selfish. I hate when people yell it in the rink but seriously, SHOOOOOOOOOT.
-First look at Philadelphia Flyers rookie and former Ottawa 67 star Travis Konecny and he was pretty impressive. The Flyers took Konecny with the 24th overall pick in the 2015 Draft after he fell a little bit in the opening round. The Senators had a couple chances at him but instead went with Thomas Chabot and then Colin White. I remember talking to a contact during the Draft and hearing that the Senators didn’t really see Konecny as a first round guy. They certainly weren’t the only team that had doubts about him either. He’s had recurring injuries to his shoulder that scared some teams off but if he can stay healthy, he looks like an impact player at the NHL level.
-Pretty ridiculous run for Ottawa’s penalty kill right now. They’ve now killed off 29 straight power plays with the last goal against coming way back on October 22nd against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They now sit 4th in the NHL with an 87.5% success rate. In the last couple weeks there have been so many moments where down a goal, they would take a penalty and it seemed like it could be game over. But the PK continues to find a way to keep them in games. Chris Kelly’s 5 on 5 play has been less than stellar but he’s been key to their success down a man.
BONUS THOUGHT- Try as I might, I just can’t ignore yesterday’s rant by Sens Owner Eugene Melnyk. The clearly frustrated owner took to the Ottawa Citizen yesterday in an attempt to defend himself against critics of his reluctance to play an outdoor game at TD Place. While the Owner has some legitimate points here (they worked hard to make it happen on the Hill and these games are difficult to negotiate), the tone of this article is what really stands out. And his timing could not be worse. As I’m sure he’s well aware, there are signs of frustration and even apathy among the fan base right now and it’s starting to show at the box office. And whether it’s fair or not, a lot of the fingers are being pointed in his direction. This was not the time for “Do you people not realize how much I do for you?!” meltdown in a local paper. Just a miscalculation on his part. Also, is there a second editorial on the way where he actually he addresses why he won’t play at TD Place?
Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
Boxscore
Advanced Stats
Upcoming Schedule
Loading …