FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Now THAT was a dreadful hockey game. Outside of a five minute push late in the third period, the Senators mostly seemed content to keep the game close. Ottawa was fine structurally but they generated next to nothing on offence and sat back for about 55 minutes. They certainly looked the part of a team playing out the string. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames were in an absolute must-win game and honestly, didn’t look much better. They were supposed to be a desperate team coming into this one but their effort was pretty uninspired for most of the game. Just all around yuck.
-Not a bad return for smilin’ Curtis Lazar though. He hasn’t had much of a season in Calgary (8 points in 52 games) but he looked decent last night and was instrumental on what turned out to be the winning goal for the Flames. While things obviously didn’t work out for Lazar here in Ottawa and haven’t gone much better in Calgary, he’s a legitimately nice guy and a player that is pretty easy to root for. Perhaps that assist, his first point in 8 games, can get him going a little bit.
-There weren’t many positives to take away from this game from Ottawa’s perspective but I thought Mike Condon looked pretty solid in goal. He stopped 37 of 39 Calgary shots including a couple highlight reel saves. In Condon’s last nine starts, he’s had a save percentage north of .916% in six of them. Not bad and maybe something Condon can build on down the stretch and heading into next season. Guy Boucher should probably find a way to make sure Condon gets at least half the starts in the remaining 15 games.
-With a shootout loss to the Sabres and a regulation loss to the Flames, the Senators remain at 29th overall. The Sabres are two points back of Ottawa and Arizona is four back with a game in hand. Falling even lower is certainly not out of the question. At the same time, there are teams just ahead of the Senators that remain within accidental striking distance. The Canucks are two points clear and the Canadiens are four up and look more than capable of losing every single one of their remaining games. Not expecting much help tonight though- The Sabres host the Golden Knights. The Canadiens are in Tampa Bay. And the Coyotes are in Colorado.
-A quick thought on the #MelnykOut campaign. First of all, good on the organizers for coming up with a unique way to draw attention to the frustration that has clearly been building here in Ottawa. Fans have every reason to be unhappy with Ownership these days and a big ol’ billboard and some well-placed advertisements is a good way to express that frustration. What’s concerning though is what happens if Melnyk continues to refuse the possibility of a sale and what happens if he just hangs on forever and ever? As a fan, is there anything the current Owner could do to win you over again?
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