FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-It’s over. It’s finally over. With last night’s loss at the hands of the Boston Bruins, the regular season has mercifully drawn to a close. It will go down as a year to forget for the Senators. They finish with a record of 28-43-11 and just 67 points, good enough for 30th overall. Their goal differential was an unthinkable -70. 26th in goals for, 30th in goals against, the 27th ranked power play, 27th on the penalty kill and 30th in team save percentage. They were just bad at everything. And in the process, reached level of futility that this franchise hasn’t seen since the 1995/1996 season. Good riddance 2017/2018 Ottawa Senators.
-In the span of ten months, Sens fans have experienced two entirely different ends to a season. Last year, it was that blink of an eye devastation. A moment that had you sitting in stunned silence, wondering if what you just saw was real but at the same time, day dreaming of all the incredible moments packed into the six weeks prior. And then there was whatever the hell this season was. A sort of six month unravelling. No one moment of disappointment but rather a slow burn. And honestly, I’m not sure which one is worse. But I hope we never go through either one of them again. What I do know is that for 15 of the 16 teams headed to the NHL playoffs, their moment of disappointment is still to come. Enjoy the playoffs, suckers!
-It will almost certainly be his last game with the organization but full credit to Danny Taylor for making the most of his opportunity. The 31 year old netminder who has played for close to 20 different teams since turning pro was strong in goal and kept his team within striking distance. Taylor had a disappointing year in Belleville but it was a nice reward for him to get an NHL start to close out the season. Where he goes from here remains to be seen. He is set to be a UFA this summer and with a couple young goalie options in Filip Gustavsson and Marcus Hogberg in the organization, there’s no need for guy like Taylor. Good luck to him wherever he ends up. I could probably saying that last sentence to seven or eight guys that played last night, by the way.
-It goes without saying, even though we’ll all say it hundreds of times in the days and weeks to come, but this has the potential to be a franchise altering summer for the Senators. How they handle the Erik Karlsson situation will not only set the tone for the rest of the summer but it will dictate the direction this team is heading in the foreseeable future. The next key date on the calendar comes on April 28th when the NHL holds its Draft Lottery but don’t be surprised if the changes start well before that. Every aspect of the organization is under review and it’s going to be an incredibly busy summer for Pierre Dorion. But first, TOWN HALLS!
-And lastly, a thank you to the SensChirp community. There were times early in this season where it felt like this place was in as bad a shape as it has ever been but as we all gradually accepted what had become a wasted year, the conversation in here became oddly pleasant. Okay maybe that’s not the word for it but therapeutic for sure. It has been another record setting year here on SensChirp both in terms of page impressions and comment section traffic and none of it would be possible without me. And all of you too, I guess. Seriously, thanks for continuing to make our strange corner of the internet a part of your Sens fan experience. Ten good years in the books and here’s to ten more. Or at least one, hopefully.
Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
Draft Lottery Simulator
Mock Draft
Boxscore
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