FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-In the not too distant future, the Ottawa Senators are going to have to make a pretty difficult decision on what to do with Anders Nilsson. And based on last night’s performance, it looks like he intends on making that decision as hard as possible. Nilsson was locked in last night, turning aside all 35 shots he faced on route to his second shutout in a Sens uniform. While his short time in Ottawa has been filled with ups and downs, there is no doubt that at this moment in time, he is the goalie that gives the team the best chance to win. While a 2.90 GAA and a .915 save percentage don’t exactly jump of the page, it represents significantly better goaltending than the Sens have had at any point in the last couple seasons. And when he’s on, like he was last night, he’s pretty tough to beat.
-The decision of course will be what to do with Anders Nilsson when he hits UFA status this summer. Craig Anderson is locked in for one more season as is Mike Condon, who hasn’t played a game in months. With guys like Marcus Hogberg, Filip Gustavsson and Joey Daccord all waiting in the wings, the Senators have to approach the situation with Nilsson cautiously. If Condon is as out of the picture as he seems at this point, a one year deal with Nilsson makes sense but anything beyond that carries some risk. There are a lot of similar goalies on the market this summer so the Senators really should prioritize finding a guy that will accept a one year deal. If that’s Nilsson, great. He has played well and listening to Craig Anderson last night, it’s clear that his teammates really like him. But a multi-year deal is something the Senators should avoid if they can. Again, a lot depends on what happens with Anderson and Condon too. I could probably be talked into a two year deal but anything beyond that seems like a mistake.
-Talk about a whirlwind few days for Ottawa’s newest forward Max Veronneau. Just a few days ago he’s taking conference calls with General Manager from across the National Hockey League and then a couple nights later, he’s making his debut in front of friends and family, wearing the jersey of his hometown team. Oh and he has an astronomy exam today too. If he was overwhelmed, he certainly hid it well. Veronneau was fairly quiet in the first period but after that, he may have actually been Ottawa’s best forward. Speed and skill were the labels placed on Veronneau coming into his NHL debut and you can certainly see why. He can really move once he gets in open ice and in the offensive zone, he seemed to have a knack for finding soft spots in the coverage. Veronneau hit the ground running last night and based on first impression, I would say the Senators definitely have an NHL player on their hands.
-Veronneau wasn’t the only guy making his debut last night as Erik Brännström was a late call-up to replace to Mark Borowiecki. Again, it would have been pretty easy for Brännström to look completely overwhelmed but that really wasn’t the case. You can just see he’s the type of player that wants to be at the centre of the action at all times and that he is more than comfortable being there. While he’ll need to learn to pick his spots a little bit at the NHL level, he can make a first pass that would make Wade Redden swoon. He skates like the wind and despite being a little bit undersized (and 19 frigging years old for like six more months), he certainly doesn’t appear to shy away from physical contact. Preference would still be to get him back to Belleville as soon as possible but it would be nice to get another look at him on Saturday night. He seemed to be getting better as the night rolled along.
-Lastly, a tip of the cap to the Ottawa penalty kill. They were the butt of many a joke in the first half of the season but since the return of Jean Gabriel Pageau they have really turned things around and recently, it’s their play while down a man that is keeping the team in hockey games. After languishing at the bottom of the league for most of the year, the Senators now sit 21st in that category and trending up. In the last eight games, they’ve given up just a single power play goal, killing off 22 of 23 during that stretch. While an increased effort level and “pride” in the PK is a big reason for the turnaround, so too is just staying out of the box. They taken three or fewer minor penalties in seven of their last eight games.
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