FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Feels like it’s something we’ve been saying a lot recently but this season just needs to end. While last night’s game didn’t matter it was a perfect example of everything that is wrong with the Ottawa Senators this year. Inconsistency and an inability to play a full sixty minutes. Flashes of brilliance followed closely by moments of despair. A team without an identity and a team desperate for structure. These are things we have seen from this team all season though so at this point, they’re almost expected. Last night was just more of the same.
-In reality, a regulation loss is exactly what the Senators needed last night. I mean, they didn’t have to do it in such spectacular fashion but losing their remaining games wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. They sit just a single point back of both Colorado and New Jersey and find themselves in 10th overall heading into the Draft Lottery. There’s still an outside chance the Sabres could pass them before the year is out too. I hate the T word but losses are oooookay right now.
-With his goal last night, Erik Karlsson hit the 80 point mark on the season. It’s a new career high for him and really, a completely ridiculous accomplishment for a defenceman especially in this current environment where only four players in the entire league have 80 points or more. There are clearly a few people in the mainstream media that have already decided Drew Doughty is going to win the Norris Trophy this season but with each point Karlsson adds to his total, he’s making the pro-Doughty camp look more and more ridiculous.
-If at the start of this season I had told you that Erik Karlsson was going to set a career-high in points, Bobby Ryan would his highest point total as a Senator, Mike Hoffman would score 30, Zack Smith would be a 20 goal scorer and Zibanejad/Ceci/Pageau would all set career-highs, you would probably guess that the Senators had put together a pretty good season, maybe even good enough to grab a playoff spot. But obviously it hasn’t worked out that way.
-More than any other year, I find myself sort of looking forward to the end of the season. I mean, obviously I’ll miss watching Senators hockey, both on TV and in person but I think I’m ready for a little break. As a website that prefers to focus on the positives, it’s become increasingly difficult to find things to write about. There’s going to be lots to talk about this off-season as this organization will be forced to make some important decisions about the future of the team. But as far as watching the on-ice product goes, a little break sounds kinda nice…Now, how long till the rookie tournament starts?
