FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-A win like that can make you quickly forget about just how rough some of the games before it had been. Considering the injuries they were dealing with, it’s safe to say this was one of Ottawa’s most impressive wins of the season. Confidence of the fan base seemed to be as low as it had been all year heading into this one so of course the Senators turned in one of their best games of the 2015/2016 season. Now…how’s about two in a row?
-Mike Hoffman’s release on that second goal was so good we could have three thoughts dedicated to that moment alone. We all know Hoffman can shoot the puck but this may have been one of his most impressive of the season. It’s a 2 on 1 but it’s clear early in the rush that shot is the only option. Henrik Lundqvist, one of the best goalies in the game, is square to Hoffman and expecting the shot. And still Hoffman blows it by him. The look of general disbelief of Lundvist’s face just solidifies how good a shot it really was. Hoffman now has 22 goals and 39 poionts through 45 games this season.
-Defensively, this may have been one of Ottawa’s more complete efforts of the season. As a six man unit, they did such a good job of making the simple and easy plays look well, simple and easy. Pucks that should get out did. And the times the Rangers did have control in the Sens’ end of the rink, defenceman and forwards did a great job of holding their position. Way less running around. There should be a whole lot of good game tape the Coaching staff can pull from that one. The Rangers didn’t play well at all but there was a lot to like about Ottawa’s game.
-And while the team in front of them was at their best, this was also a big bounce back performance for Craig Anderson. He had a couple rough outings in a row and really needed an effort like this to get his game back on track. He finished with 35 saves on the night although I’m sure he’d tell you that the majority of those were pretty easy saves to make. Anderson is very rarely blamed for the Senators struggles and that’s because without himn, this team is probably right near the bottom of the standings. But the reality is if this team wants to be a playoff team come April, they are going to need Craig Anderson playing above-average to excellent the rest of the way.
-If the Senators are going to crawl their way back into the playoff race, the stretch of games after the All Star break would be a great time to get on a little bit of a run. Obviously there’s no such thing as an easy schedule in today’s NHL but a quick glance at the first few weeks of February shows a handful of winnable games. At Pittsburgh, home to Edmonton, home to Toronto, home to Tampa Bay, in Detroit, home to Colorado, in Columbus and the back home for three straight against Buffalo, Carolina and Detroit. It’s now or never, really. Let’s just hope the Senators can get healthy over the break. After tomorrow’s game against Buffalo, the Sens have a full six days off.
