FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Compared to the effort on opening night, the Ottawa Senators were signifcantly better in their second game of the season. They took the play to the Montreal Canadiens for most of the game and although they may have been guilty of letting up a little bit with a two goal lead, this was definitely a win they deserved. I really thought they did a much better job in their own end of the rink and seemed much more willing to battle for loose pucks, something Boucher talked a lot about in the last two practices. Plenty of positives to build off in this one.
-That 5 on 3 power play the Senators had in the third period was unacceptably terrible though. Not sure if that’s a situation the Senators have had much time to work on early in the season but it looked like no player on the ice knew exactly what the plan was. Every guy on the ice was standing still and nobody seemed to have any interest in taking a shot. Boucher likes his power play fast and that was the exact opposite. The Senators are lucky it didn’t end up costing them the game too because you could tell the Habs got a huge lift from that kill.
-After not playing a whole lot in the first game of the season, I really liked Chris Wideman’s game. He picked up assists on two Ottawa goals and could have had another when he set up Kyle Turris for a wide open look. He was skating well and moving the puck with confidence. The Senators are going to have to get Thomas Chabot into a game early next week which means that either the Senators will dress seven defenceman, or one of Wideman or Borowiecki will come out of the line up. Based on his performance on Saturday, there’s no way Chris Wideman can be the guy that comes out of the line up.
-There has been some talk in the last 24 hours about the lack of contract negotiations with Zack Smith. Entering the last year of his deal, Smith can be a UFA this summer and both sides acknowledge that there has been limited talk of an extension to this point. That makes this season a big one for Smith and he was at his best against the Canadiens. In addition to the lucky bounce that gave him his first of the season, Smith was all over the ice, including a bit hit on Canadiens defenceman Andrei Markov. Seems like a decent fit with Brassard and Ryan too.
-Really liked what the Senators got out of some of the players in the bottom half of their line up in this one. Ryan Dzingel was considered one of the guys on the fringe coming into the preseason but at this point, he looks like a legitimate third line option. That number 18 is taking some getting used to but there’s been a lot to like about his game early on and he was rewarded with a couple points last night. The Dzingel-Pageau-Pyatt line could be a decent third line option for the Senators going forward. They showed remarkable chemistry and poise on that game-tying goal.
–Boucher’s post-game comments
–Box score
–Advanced Stats
–Upcoming schedule
