FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Not good enough. Not even close. The Senators opened the scoring just 21 seconds into this game and it looked like it might be a fun night at the Canadian Tire Centre. It turned out to be the exact opposite. The Senators were uncharacteristically loose in the neutral zone and were guilty of glaring defensive breakdowns all over the ice. And the Montreal Canadiens made them pay for it. As ugly as it was, there was a moment in the second period where the game got to 4-3 and it looked like the Senators might still have a chance. But two odd man rushes in the final three minutes of the period killed any hope of that. Just that kind of night for the home side.
-As a fun little Halloween promotion, two of the team’s best players decided to dress up as guys from the 1992 Ottawa Senators. Craig Anderson wore a terrifying Daniel Berthiaume costume while Erik Karlsson was decked out in a spot-on tribute to Ken Hammond. Thankfully Halloween only comes once a year and those two guys can go back to their old selves later this week. Because frankly, last night was just a little too scary for me. I spent six hours driving back from Buffalo yesterday with a punishing hangover and in a crowded van with six other people. And still, this hockey game was the worst part of my day.
-Erik Karlsson has had some off nights in his NHL career but this may have been one of his worst. You could tell things weren’t going his way early and it got worse the more he forced it. He finished the game an unheard of -6 (plus minus is a dumb stat!), tying the franchise record for worst single game plus minus with Janne Laukkanen and Darren Rumble. Some pretty elite company. It’s clear that Karlsson’s timing and conditioning level aren’t at his usual standard but what’s more concerning, is there were times last night where his mobility looked limited too. There’s an adjustment period following major surgery and Karlsson is clearly going through some of that. What’s encouraging is that until last night, Karlsson has looked good and been his usual productive self. Obviously he’s not on the same level he was in the playoffs but that can be said about a lot of guys early in a new season.
-Games like that will happen over the course of an 82 game season. Okay, maybe not exactly like that but there are always going to be nights where the team just doesn’t have it. Guy Boucher was pretty quick to put the blame on his own shoulders during his post-game remarks but the reality is, the team’s top players let them down in this one. It’s unfortunate that it had to come on home ice and against it rival though. What matters now is how the Senators respond to just their second regulation loss of the season. They have two more home games (Detroit and Las Vegas) before getting ready for their trip to Sweden. It’s important for this team to bounce back so they can go on that trip feeling good about their game.
-If you’re looking for positives on a night like this, well good luck to you. But the continued offensive production of Chris DiDomenico is certainly encouraging. He now has points in three straight games and back to back multi-point efforts. With Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan both out of the line up, the Senators needed some guys to step up and fill that offensive void and DiDomenico has somewhat surprisingly, been one of the guys that has stepped up. Five points in his last three games. Of all the call-ups the Senators have made in the early part of this season, he’s the one that has made the best impression.
Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
Player Interviews
Boxscore (Terrifying Halloween Edition)
Advanced Stats
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