-I’m not sure why but I almost have a sense of personal vindication every time Jason Spezza has a good game. And it shouldn’t be that way. I’ll admit his critics have always bugged me but now that he’s wearing the C, it’s seems to be as bad as it’s ever been. Spezza was the best player on the ice last night and seems to be moving a little better the past couple weeks. He obviously hasn’t had a great season to date but there are clear signs of improvement. If he can stay healthy and produce down the stretch, the Ottawa Senators will be a very dangerous team.
-Same goes for Craig Anderson. Fans have been pretty hard on him this season and a lot of the criticism has been justified. But Paul MacLean has made it abundantly clear that Anderson is this team’s number one goalie. And if that’s the case, he needs to get on a bit of a run down the stretch if Ottawa is going to push for a playoff spot. Last night was certainly a step in the right direction.
-Really liked what both Eric Gryba and Patrick Wiercioch brought to the blueline last night. Wiercioch was strong on the power play and Gryba defended well in his own end. You could actually make a pretty strong case for both guys being in the line up regularly but there just isn’t room back there right now. Marc Methot is expected to return to the line up on Thursday night.
-There is this misconception among some mainstream media (that don’t watch Ottawa very often) that Erik Karlsson is soft. While he’s never going to be a defenceman that overpowers people in front of the net, his ability to play the angle and use his stick to defend makes him more effective than people realize in his own end. And unlike other defenceman, he doesn’t have to “defend” as often because he’s carrying the puck up the ice and towards the opposition’s net. But I’m sure if you ask Nathan Mackinnon and Mikhail Grabovski, they’ll tell you Karlsson is anything but soft.
-As a result of the major snowstorm hitting the US right now, the schedule has been shuffled a little bit for the Senators. They’ll still play Thursday in Tampa Bay but rather than racing to Carolina for a game Friday night, they’ll get an extra day off and avoid what would have been a tough back to back. The bad news is the game against Carolina has been moved to Saturday at Noon. Afternoon games have not been kind to the Sens this season.
-Things got a little heated between Senators fans and Caps supporters and media last night after this tweet from the Senators official Twitter account rubbed people the wrong way. One Caps media guy really seemed to take offense to the tweet but seemed to have relaxed on the issue a bit this morning. Maybe a little bit of hatred between the two Nation’s capitals is a good thing. I know I never forgave the Capitals for this Calle Johansson empty netter. Just put it in the damn net, Calle!
