FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Mike Hoffman has very quickly gone from regular healthy scratch to key piece of the Ottawa Senators’ offence. Much was made about Curtis Lazar being told he was sticking around but it’s also interesting to note that the Senators also told Mike Hoffman to go ahead and find a house here in Ottawa. Heading into this season, Hoffman looked pretty vulnerable in a crowded forward group but he has solidified his spot in the Ottawa line up through the first 12 games. Hoffman’s speed is really catching teams off guard right now.
-So when can we start the “Craig Anderson for Vezina” campaign? His .948 save percentage is tops in the league right now and last night was probably one of his best efforts of the season. The Senators were outplayed for large parts of this game yet Anderson was rock solid in the Ottawa goal. Paul MacLean has an interesting decision to make on Saturday night against the Winnipeg Jets.
-Another good performance by Jared Cowen who looks like a new man since spending five games in the pressbox. The message for Cowen has been pretty simply the last little while and it finally seems to be getting through. Cowen was guilty of trying to do too much at times last season but seems to focusing on keeping things as simple as possible the last few games. Ottawa’s blueline looks a lot better with a capable and competent Jared Cowen.
-We sort of knew Minnesota was likely to win the shot battle last night but 35-17 is a tad excessive. Ottawa was guilty of sitting on the lead a little bit in the third period and the 16-8 shot total over the final 20 minutes certainly reflects that. You are going to hear a lot about how this type of performance isn’t “sustainable” for the Senators but as long as power play keeps clicking and the goaltending is rock solid, the Senators are a tough team to beat.
-Talked a lot about how important this homestand was for the Senators and they have come up big so far. Four points against Detroit and Minnesota is pretty impressive and has helped Ottawa further solidify their position in the Eastern Conference standings. Ottawa is now 4-0-2 on home ice and is the only team in the NHL that has yet to lose in regulation on home ice. They play two more home games this weekend against Winnipeg and Toronto.
