It was another sixty minute effort where you would be hard pressed to find a positive in the performance put forward by the Ottawa Senators. Much like the night against the Philadelphia Flyers, Paul MacLean’s team was not ready to play from the moment the puck was dropped and just got outworked by the opposition.
The end result was another humbling home ice loss, this time to the tune of a 4-1 final. Erik Karlsson would score the lone marker for the Senators on a 5 on 3 late in the third period.
On a night where you would be hard pressed to find a positive, Mark Borowiecki put forward another strong effort on the blueline. Despite taking a few penalties on the night, Borowiecki was one of the few guys with a pulse, and landed a hit that had everybody talking on Columbus tough guy Jared Boll. While some were suggesting it was a case of “targeting the head”, I disagree. To me this was just a good, solid hit. The play was called an elbow on the ice.
Borowiecki has come in and brought some life to an otherwise struggling Ottawa blueline. He’s averaged around 14 minutes a game and has been a physical presence on the blueline, racking up 21 hits through seven games. He’s probably going to force the hand of Bryan Murray at some point soon as we know the team would prefer not to carry eight defenceman. I don’t see how the Senators can send this kid down the way he has been playing since getting the call from Binghamton.
Another look at the hit that got him tossed from the game this afternoon.
After the effort the Senators put forward on Sunday afternoon, I suspect the trade rumours that have been swirling around this team of late to pick up steam on Monday. I don’t know if there is move for Bryan Murray to make that keeps the team within budget but we shall see.
