FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-If that loss in Carolina was one of the worst of the season for the Senators, then last night’s nail-bitter of a win over the Florida Panthers has to be among their best. It seems like every time the fan base is expecting the bottom to fall out for this team they find a way to turn in a solid effort. This was the type of win that exemplifies what the Senators are all about under Guy Boucher’s system. Obviously they gave up a few too many shots but this is a team comfortable playing in and winning close games. Handy skill to have come playoff time.
-Suppose we should be used to it by now but that’s another damn good performance by Craig Anderson. He had no chance on the one goal he did let in and he completely shut the door the rest of the way including a handful of spectacular stops. Anderson now sits second in the league in save percentage with a remarkable .929 sv%, trailing only Devan Dubnyk in that category. While Reilly Smith obviously didn’t get all of that open net chance but that’s a spectacular game-saving save by Anderson. Love the way he battled all night.
-How good would a Senators/Panthers playoff series be? Maybe not the ideal opponent from a match-up perspective (that Florida team is impressive) but you can’t beat that intensity. It started early in the game and didn’t stop until the final whistle. You could tell that both teams understood the magnitude of the two points on the line tonight. Great pace to this one with both teams generating quality chances. If these teams do meet in the playoffs I hope Garret Rank and Jean Hebert (last night’s officials) are nowhere near the series. I’ve made a conscious effort not to blame the officials as much this year but man they were awful last night.
-In the third period, Chris Neil and Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves in the type of fight you really don’t see anymore. Two tough guys agreeing to fight before the puck dropped and having a go for the 6th time in their careers. In this case, Neil was making Thornton answer the bell for running around a little bit through the first 40 minutes and good on him for doing it. The role of fighting in hockey has evolved over the years but I will always respect the hell out of the guys that did it and continue to do it for a living. Speaking of fighting, it turns out Ryan Dzingel can throw ’em. Reilly Smith found out the hard way.
-The Senators made a bit of surprising depth move this morning adding Swiss League forward and former Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Chris DiDomenico. With the strong Swiss connections on the Senators Coaching Staff, it makes sense that they would turn to a player they’ve seen a lot of but it’s the timing that’s a little bit strange. If this is a move to shore up organizational depth and have an extra call-up option down the stretch, then okay. But if this is going to be pitched as a deadline acquisition for the big club, well then I’m not really sure what to think. Worth noting that the Swiss news release calls it a one-way contract (UPDATE- Garrioch says it’s a two way deal) and Pierre Dorion was in Switzerland back in February.
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