FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Finally a couple bounces went Ottawa’s way. Goals have been so hard to come by the last little while, so it was nice to see things break Ottawa’s way in the third period. The Sens were the better team for most of the night but with just six minutes left on the clock, it was starting to look like they might never score again. And then the Smith-Pageau-Stone line saved the day. First it was Zack Smith knocking a puck out of mid-air in an impressive display of hand-eye coordination and then with just six seconds to go, Stone jammed a loose puck over the goal line for a thrilling last second victory. The goal celebration was vintage Mark Stone.
-Full credit to Craig Anderson for keeping this game within striking distance. He wasn’t tested a lot necessairly but he made a couple key second period stops on Kings Captain Anze Kopitar that gave Ottawa a chance in the third period. For all the concern about Ottawa’s goaltending situation, it’s actually been a clear area of strength over the last few weeks. Anderson now has a 2.18 GAA and an incredible .931 save percentage.
-Pretty impressive that even with a struggling offence and a dreadful power play, Erik Karlsson is still finding a way to pick up points. He now has 12 through the first 14 games of the season, trailing only San Jose Shark Brent Burns for the defensive scoring lead. The Captain made a great play to start the breakout on the game-tying goal and his poise and patience with the puck set up the game-winner. Karlsson finished the game with 2 assists, 4 shots on goal, 4 blocked shots and almost 60% of possession at 5 on 5. 29:39 of ice time too.
-We spent a good portion of last season begging for a little defensive structure and we’re all seeing what that looks like right now. The Senators have obviously been much better in their own end of the rink but the result has been a painfully quiet offence. While this team had their issues under Dave Cameron, nobody would ever accuse them of being boring. The challenge for the Coaching Staff will be finding that balance between defence and offence. Ottawa turned up the pressure a little bit on their forecheck in that third period and it ended up being the difference.
-Through the first 14 games of the season, it’s safe to say that Mark Borowiecki has been one of the most pleasant surprises on the roster. More than anyone else on the team, he’s benefitted from the improved defensive structure. He was definitely guilty of running around at times last year, always trying to do too much and ending up out of position often as a result. He has simplified his game this year though and looks much better as a result. He actually had a couple decent chances in this one too.
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