FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-How bout a round of applause for the Head Coach? MacLean put his neck on the line last night, scratching veterans in Mika Zibanejad and Milan Michalek, and his team responded. Those two haven’t been Ottawa’s worst players but they are at the top of the list for guys the team needs more out of. Not an easy decision for a Coach to make but last night it turned out to be the right one. Ice time allocation looked a lot better last night as MacLean leaned on his best players, especially in that third period. Interesting little situation he’s in for Friday’s game now.
-65 minute efforts like the one the Sens put together last night can define a season. It took 20 games but the team finally seemed to find another gear and did it in an incredibly difficult back to back. The Senators weren’t getting any breaks (two goals waved off, two posts) but stuck with it and found a way to tie the game. This is going to be a game the Coaching staff points to the rest of the year. This is what the Ottawa Senators are capable of.
-The overtime was some of the best hockey I’ve watched all year and at both ends of the rink, Bobby Ryan stood out. He made two terrific game-saving plays on defence and was a couple inches away from ending the game before the shootout. And then he did end the game in the shootout. Ryan took his game to another level in that overtime period and looked as good as he has in an Ottawa Senators’ uniform. MacLean has been asking a lot of Ryan lately, expecting him to produce offensively away from that top line and Ryan has delivered. He has at least a point in 7 of his last 9 games.
-It’s at the point where Paul MacLean is going to have a real hard time keeping Erik Condra out of the line up. Every time he’s been given a chance he’s had an impact and last night was probably his best effort of the season. He only played 9:20 last night but had the officials not botched a couple calls, he could have come away with three goals. He’s a natural right winger but has shown the ability to play his off wing too. Garrioch mentioned that there were lots of scouts in the building last night. Hope some of them were Ottawa scouts because right now, Condra adds a lot to this line up.
-Last night the mainstream media made it official- Daniel Alfredsson is coming home. I was trying to drop hints all day that the December 4th game might be a good one to be at and that’s because that’s the day Alfie will announce his retirement here in Ottawa. The fact that the team picked a game day to make the announcement might provide some clues as to what they have planned. Expecting something pretty special prior to puck drop. Seriously though, buy tickets for that game.
