FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-That overtime winner probably looked a little bit familiar. Gotta hand it to Kyle Turris, he certainly has a flare for the dramatic. And when he has time to get it off, he has one of the most lethal wrist shots in the game. The Senators stumbled out of the blocks in this one but I really liked the way they responded in the second and third period. Despite the slow start, I thought they deserved those two points. Over the course of a long season, there are always going to be ugly stretches but what matters is a team’s ability to respond and make adjustments in game. That’s been one of the most impressive parts of their game early in the year.
-Considering he gave up a goal 30 seconds into the game, this really was another spectacular performance by Craig Anderson. Following an emotional win in Edmonton, it would have been understandable if there was a bit of a letdown in his game but that just didn’t happen. The Senators were a complete mess in that first period and it was the goaltending of Anderson that kept the game within striking distance. He wasn’t tested as much in the second and third but still made a couple of key stops to get this game to overtime. He’s in some kind of zone right now.
-Mark Stone left the Ottawa bench a couple of times in the second period and did not come out at all for the third period. The team is calling it an upper body injury and based on the replay showed during the broadcast, it sure looked like Stone was saying his neck was the issue following a hard collision into the end boards in the middle frame. Obviously an injury in that area raises concerns of another concussion but Boucher made it sound like he could play on Thursday. Stone hasn’t looked 100% in the early part of this season and seems a little bit sluggish after missing most of training camp.
-I understand that many fans have good reason for staying away from games this season. Whether it’s the lack of success in recent years, the budget talk, sending a message to the owner, the convenience of watching an HD game at home, too many games in November, or just that people have less money to spend on tickets- there are a ton of reasons why fans have decided to buy fewer tickets this year. I get it. But it sure is disappointing. And it’s a terrible look for the fan base, especially outside of Ottawa. After what happened the other night in Edmonton, it would have been nice to welcome this team back with a full building. The announced attendance in the building was 13,049.
-Not a huge surprise but this morning the Senators announced that they have returned defenceman Thomas Chabot to the QMJHL. There have been rumours that this move was coming soon and today the Senators made it official. I did think they would find a way to get him into one game on this homestand before making a move but the fact is the other six defenceman are making it pretty tough to make a change back there right now. Chabot has the benefit of a couple months with the NHL team which should help with this development (not to mention he was able to cash a couple NHL pay cheques to get him through the year in Saint John). Chabot will be expected to dominate in Junior this year and should be a key piece on Canada’s World Junior team.
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