FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-There have been nights during this recent stretch where the Senators seemed to be showing signs of reverting to last year’s team. Their desperate need for goals meant they were cheating a little bit and the result was a few nights where the shots against were seriously inflated. This was not one of those games. Ottawa controlled the pace of this game for most of the night and probably deserved a better fate. Unfortunately they gave up a goal in the opening minute and then a second at the 12 minute mark of the first and they could never crawl their way back into the game, despite having the bulk of the scoring chances.
-And a big reason for that was the spectacular play of Roberto Luongo. There have been nights this year where Craig Anderson stole games for his team. Last night, Luongo stole one for his team. He made a handful of highlight reel stops and added to the frustration of Ottawa shooters in the process. More than just the remarkable stops, Luongo did a great job of tracking pucks through traffic and finding loose pucks in his crease. A couple early whistles helped him out too. The Senators held an 83-43 edge in shot attempts in this one with 40 of those shots making it through to Luongo.
-You can say this about a few players in the line up right now obviously but it feels like it’s only a matter of time before Derick Brassard breaks through and starts piling up goals and points. He finally ended his lengthy goal-scoring drought against the Predators the other night and I thought last night was his best game as a Senator. He was around the puck all night and had a bunch of great chances and finished with a team high 7 shots. He’s clearly a frustrated player right now but if he sticks to it, the goals have to come eventually. Right…?!
-Yesterday, the Senators announced that they have placed goaltender Andrew Hammond on waivers. The move came as a bit of a surprise to some but after Hammond flat out refused a conditioning stint, the organization really didn’t have much choice. Mike Condon has temporarily staked his claim to the team’s back up goalie position and while carrying three guys is a possibility, it’s not an ideal scenario. From Hammond’s perspective, you sort of understand why he might be reluctant to go down to the AHL on a conditioning stint and it probably has to do with the possibility of getting stuck down there permanently. Well now that he’s on waivers, he certainly faces that possibility. Hammond has another year on his deal so it would be a bit of a surprise if someone claimed him. We’ll find out today at noon.
-And now it’s time to shift focus a little bit. At least for one day. The Ottawa RedBlacks will host the Eastern Final today at a sold-out and potentially snowy TD Place in Ottawa. It will be a rematch against the team they lost to in last year’s Grey Cup- the Edmonton Eskimos. Most of the so-called experts in the media don’t seem to be giving Ottawa much of a chance in this one despite the fact that the RedBlacks won both games against the Eskimos during the regular season. Henry Burris and the RedBlacks should be a well-rested group eager to prove the doubters wrong and book another trip to the Grey Cup. LET’S GO REDBLACKS!
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