-Another game where Jason Spezza was among the best forwards on the ice. Obviously the -2 stands out but unlike earlier in the season when he was racking up 5 on 5 goals against, the two goals last night just felt like bad luck. Spezza is moving his feet again and is able to carry the puck with authority. MacLean noticed too, taking Smith and Condra off his wings and putting him with more talented players in Michalek and Zibanejad. I love that MacArthur-Turris-Ryan line but it might be time to try Ryan and Spezza again.
-We get so caught up in the ups and downs of being a fan that sometimes we don’t just stop and appreciate how good Erik Karlsson really is. He was at his best again last night, racking up a goal and an assist along with a regular season career high 34:45. He leads all defenceman with 49 points and is just a goal back of Shea Weber for the league lead. Incredibly, he’s actually on a better point pace than his Norris Trophy season. If you have a quiet moment today, just thank Bryan Murray for trading up and grabbing him in the 2008 Draft. This guy is among the best players in the game.
–Chris Neil seems to be a bit of a lightning rod for criticism sometimes (I don’t get it at all, personally) but there isn’t a player on this team that does his job more consistently than Neil. His fight against Crombeen last night was perfectly timed with the Senators struggling to much of anything in the first five minutes and his late goal saved the Sens from what would have been a crippling regulation loss. The goal was number 100 for Chris Neil in his career too. Congratulations to Mr. Neil!
-I think I’ve had just about enough of the shootout. I’m pretty sure I would feel that way no matter which team I cheered for but watching the Senators struggle so badly in the post-overtime skills competition has just emphasized that fact. Time for the league to look at other options. How fun would it be to watch Erik Karlsson in a 3 on 3 situation??
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