FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-As the old saying goes, “all good things must come to an end”. Or “you can’t win ’em all”. Or “losing is actually good too”. All things considered, the Ottawa Senators actually put in a pretty good effort last night. They really didn’t give Columbus much of anything in the way of quality scoring chances. They controlled the pace of the game for long stretches and played a perfectly boring road game. Only they uhh forgot to score a goal. Or create anything on offence really. Joonas Korpisalo made a handful of good saves but this mostly an easy night for him.
-With last night’s loss, the Senators drop a couple spots in the Eastern Conference and a few spots in the overall standings. They still sit just four points back of the Montreal Canadiens for third in the Atlantic Division only there are three teams in their way including the Sabres, Leafs and Lightning. Tampa Bay has three more points than Ottawa in three fewer games. Meanwhile Ottawa now sits 27th overall. That’s an 8.5% chance at first overall for those of you keeping track at home.
-Think we all need to take a deep breath when it comes to Colin White. There is no doubt that he is struggling right now. Just five points on the season and only a single assist to his name in the last seven games. DJ Smith has shuffled him back and forth between wing and centre but it hasn’t really worked out. But there is no need for a dramatic move like sending him down to Belleville. Watching White, it seems like that hip flexor/groin injury might still be bugging him a little bit as he still looks tentative and definitely doesn’t have that same first step we saw earlier in the season. If he is at 100% then maybe just an issue of getting back up to speed. The Senators are in a position where they can afford to be patient with young players and that’s the ideal approach with White. Putting him with Tkachuk or Duclair might help too.
-And while we’re on the topic of recently extended players struggling a little bit, that wasn’t Thomas Chabot’s best game either. And there have been a few nights this season where that’s been the case. Chabot still looks like he’s getting used to being the guy that other teams target on a nightly basis. He’s putting up points (four in his last five games) and creating on offence but there are times where he has been guilty of running around a bit in his own end of the rink. Regularly playing 25+ minutes a night against the other team’s top lines is a bit of an adjustment for a 22 year old defenceman.
-A lot was made of Anthony Duclair’s return to Columbus. After John Tortorella took a swipe at Duclair on his way out the door last year, it was sort of assumed that Duclair would be eager to prove his old coach wrong. Yet listening to the comments from both player and coach, it really doesn’t sound like there are any hard feelings between the two. To his credit, Torts seemed legitimately happy about the success Duclair is having in Ottawa so far this season. It’s a good reminder that when a Coach makes comments like that in the media, it’s because he’s trying to motivate a player. And in the case of Anthony Duclair, it seems like it may have worked.
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Loading …Next up- vs. Bruins (Wednesday), @ Wild (Friday), @ Flames (Saturday)
