In some ways, it feels like the season just started.
Yet a glance at the schedule shows there are just 50 games left. A lot can change in that amount of time but at this point, it’s safe to assume we have a pretty good idea what we have in this year’s Ottawa Senators.
Like the experts predicted, they are near the bottom of the standings. Not right at the bottom but close. But that doesn’t mean this Sens team hasn’t been able to turn some heads along the way.
Very rarely do they get blown out. It’s happened a few times sure but for the most part, they are in every hockey game. As Head Coach DJ Smith put it yesterday- they never go away. And that’s a great sign for a rebuilding hockey team.
With 50 games to go, an extra day off between games, we’ll call this…Friday News and Notes.
-Early in the season there were some signs that a sophomore slump might be in the cards for Brady Tkachuk. As a 20-year old second year pro, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if he struggled a little bit this year especially when you consider the elevated role he’s taking on this season. But lately, he seems to be finding another gear in his game. And that should scare the hell out of the rest of the National Hockey League. Mentioned it the other day but that second period scrum with Shea Weber is a great example of what Brady Tkachuk is all about. That was Weber sending a message to a young kid to dial it back a little bit or else. And he did the exact opposite. From that point on, Tkachuk completely dominated the hockey game. And it’s worth pointing out that I didn’t really notice Shea Weber the rest of the way. Brady Tkachuk is the type of player that is going to single-handedly win a playoff series some day and drive fans of other teams crazy in the process.
-Thomas Chabot would probably be the first to admit this has been a bit of an up and down season to this point. He has been forced into a top pairing role on a not-so-great hockey team and predictably, there has been some growing pains associated with that transition. When Chabot is at his best, there are few players that can make the game look so damn simple. Yet we sometimes forget that he still has a lot of learning to do when it comes to his own end of the rink. That was on display at times on Wednesday night. This is an important year in Chabot’s development and it really feels like he has the right teachers around to guide him along the way. DJ Smith and Jack Capuano have both been around the game a long time as has his occasional defence partner/on-ice coach Ron Hainsey. Chabot is in good hands. Maybe just as important as the teachers he has around him, is Chabot’s attitude in general. Never seems to get too high or too low which is important for a young player. Chabot sits 4th in the NHL in ice time, logging just a shade over 25 minutes a night.
-On the other hand, the situation with Colin White is mildly concerning but certainly no reason to panic. It’s not at all unusual for a player his age to go through some hard times and that has obviously been the case with White this season. The hip flexor injury set him back in a big way and it sort of feels like he’s spent the rest of the season trying to play catch-up. At this point, it’s quite clearly an issue of confidence with White. That wide-open scoring chance he sort of flubbed into the corner against Montreal was a great example. Just gripping the stick a little too hard right now. You get the feeling that once he scores a couple, they are going to start coming in bunches. The underlying numbers suggest that better days are ahead for White.
-Some good news on the injury front yesterday as Christian Wolanin joined the team for the first time since his preseason shoulder injury. He had a non-contact jersey on and it was a skills session but it’s at least an indication that things are trending in the right direction for Wolanin. Still no timeline for his return obviously. The initial recovery period was set at a minimum of four months which would put him somewhere in late-January. Wouldn’t be at all surprising if it ends up being some time in February. It’s been so long since we’ve Wolanin on the ice that it’s easy to forget just how encouraging his play was late last season. Most of the preseason roster projections had him as a regular on the blueline this season. Wolanin is still a big part of the future here in Ottawa.
-Scott Sabourin was also back on the ice for the Senators yesterday and unlike Wolanin, he was wearing a regular jersey. At last check, Sabourin still had a one more neurological test to pass before he could resume regular contact activities. From there, it’s probably going to take him a bit of time to get back into game-shape too. Sabourin is on the ice for practice again today. Dylan DeMelo was not on the ice at practice today.
-No fan base plays the “What If?” game better than Sens fans. When a former-player is playing well or scores a goal, we are always quick to let each other know about it. This team has had some pretty high-profile departures over the last couple seasons so it’s sort of inevitable. But when you look at the big picture, there’s really no debate that the Senators are better off in the long-term because of some of the difficult decisions they made the last two years. It sucks to watch star players leave but it’s crippling to watch those same star player stay, get paid and then under-perform. There was a lot of emotion wrapped up in the departures of Turris, Karlsson, Duchene, Dzingel and especially Stone. Instead of looking at the hockey-side of each transaction and the broader path the organization was taking, so much of it got wrapped up in our frustration with Ownership and the motivations behind the sell-off. Rightfully so, I suppose. But almost everyone would agree that the future of the Ottawa Senators looks brighter now than it would have if they had paid those star players.
-A rebuilding season can be unpleasant. Halfheartedly cheering for your team can get a little a tiresome. But for Sens fans, the process is being made that much more pleasant by the debacle that is the San Jose Sharks. The first game after a coaching change is usually an automatic win. That’s just how it works. Add in the fact that it’s a home game against a team in the bottom third of the league and it should have been a walk in the park. Instead, the Sharks lost 6-3 to the Rangers on Thursday night. Like, not even close. Turns out that much like Pete DeBoer, Bob Boughner also can’t stop pucks. There is a lot of hockey left to be played but that Sharks team looks nothing like a playoff-bound group. And actually, they look more like a bottom-five team with each passing day.
