FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Andrew Hammond has moved from unbelievable to downright ridiculous. I have no idea how he’s doing it but this certainly has been a magical run for the 27 year old rookie. Goalies are capable of getting hot like this from time to time but for Hammond to do it at exactly the right time has been pretty special. It’s worth repeating that this was a guy that wasn’t a particularly good AHL goalie. Right now, he’s playing like he’s the best goalie on the planet. This run is going to end at some point but it sure is fun to watch. Hammond is 6-0-1 with a 1.35 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage in eight games.
-Now Cameron has another decision to make in goal. After a last minute flip flop ahead of last night’s game, Cameron now has to decide how to rotate his goalies this weekend for games against Buffalo and Calgary. Personally, I think you have to go back to Hammond on Friday. He’s played so well on this road trip that he deserves that first start back at home.
-There are times in a season when the schedule is working against you and last night was certainly one of those situations. To finish a lengthy road trip with a tough back to back, the Senators could be forgiven if they came out a little bit flat. But to their credit, they seemed to have pretty good jump most of the way. Hammond made some pretty spectacular stops but this was a solid 60 minute effort by the Senators in a situation where fatigue really could have been a factor.
-Four points back. The out of town scoreboard watching is about to get pretty serious. While the Senators are within striking distance, they could still use a favour or two from some other teams. If Calgary could find a way to beat Boston tonight, it would be a huge boost to Ottawa’s chances. Sports Club Stats says it would be an almost 6% increase, in fact. Last night’s win increased the Senators’ chances to 28.7%. The Bruins play their next three at home against Calgary, Philadelphia and Detroit.
-That game tomorrow night better be a sell out. Still lots of tickets remaining at this point but after the road trip this team just had, they deserve to come home to a packed building.
