FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-On the list of unlikely heroes, Chris Kelly had to be right at the top. Okay, maybe right beside Mr. 999 Chris Neil. You have to give Kelly credit though. He showed incredible poise and patience on that game winning goal and settled down a bouncing puck that nobody else could get a handle on. Great finish too. Kelly hasn’t contributed a whole lot offensively but he’s still a player Guy Boucher trusts in defensive situations and late in games. Usually it’s to shut things down though, not score a highlight reel game-winner in the last minute of the third. Listening to Boucher’s post-game comments, it’s clear that Kelly’s role on this team goes beyond his on-ice contribution. Nice to see Kelly get rewarded last night.
-Glancing at the schedule ahead of this week, we all knew it was going to be a difficult one. Consecutive games against Stanley Cup finalists and then a back to back against perennial contenders to close out the seven day stretch. As much as we’d like to believe the Sens are an elite team, they’re not there yet. We don’t get to be picky about how we pick up points in a week like this. Yes, the Sharks were the better team last night for long stretches of the game. But we got what matters- the two points. Take ’em and run.
-We all like draft picks but give credit to General Manager Pierre Dorion for putting that 2017 5th rounder to good use. That trade for Mike Condon is looking like a stroke of genius by Dorion. He knew he had to act quickly given the uncertainty of Craig Anderson’s situation and he clearly targeted the right guy. Condon now has an incredible 1.68 GAA and a .945 save percentage. Hard not to be impressed with his play since arriving here in Ottawa. He always looks so calm in net and has a real knack for reading the play. The Sharks created a ton of high quality chances in this game and if not for the play of Condon, it could have got away from them early on. With Anderson’s status again uncertain, Condon looks more than capable of carrying the load for a little bit.
-You know that friend you have who was always there and you just sort of got used to him being around? Nothing flashy but always dependable. And then one day he packs up and leaves for the West Coast let’s say and you realize just how reliable that guy really was? Yea, that’s kind of how I feel about Marc Methot right now. Erik Karlsson gets all the attention on the Ottawa blueline but it’s clear this team is missing Methot right now. Englund is barely playing which means Boucher is pretty much rolling five defenceman and it’s making for some long nights for the Ottawa blueline. Hopefully he’s ready to go on Saturday.
-With his first period goal, Erik Karlsson has officially passed Wade Redden for the franchise’s all-time record for points by a defenceman. It’s one of those records that you knew Karlsson would own eventually but it’s sort of shocking just how quickly it happened. Redden racked up 410 points in his Ottawa career and it took him 838 games. Karlsson passed him in about 300 fewer games. He’s now in the Top 100 all-time in that category and climbing quickly. With his three point night, Karlsson now has 27 on the year- tied for 4th in the NHL.
Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
Boxscore
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League Standings
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