FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-I think we can all agree that that was a pretty good effort by the Ottawa Senators. Probably a game where they deserved a better fate. Considering how many times the Sens have ended up on the other end of games like last night’s, it’s only fair that they now lose a couple games where they massively outplay the opposition. The shots finished 32-16. Ottawa dominated this game from start to finish and really didn’t give the Panthers anything offensively, and yet still it wasn’t enough to come away with the two points. If the Sens can play like that on a regular basis, they’ll be just fine.
-As much as it hurts to lose a game like this, there are lots of good signs for this hockey team. Since moving Jared Cowen to the press box, things just seem to be a lot more controlled defensively. Cowen being out of the line up certainly isn’t the only reason for that though. The defenceman that are in the line up deserve a ton of credit but so too do the forwards, who all seem to be doing a much better job coming back to help out and just as importantly, winning battles along the boards. As much as the defence gets blamed for the shots against, the forwards have a huge part in it too. It seems like as a team, there is a new found commitment to tightening things up in their own end. The offence has slowed down a little bit as a result but the goals will come.
-And just when everything else starts to come together, the goaltending lets them down a little bit for the first time all year. It’s not even that Craig Anderson was terrible last night either. He just got outplayed by Luongo. Both of those first two Panthers goals that beat him were good shots but those are just saves we’ve come to expect from Anderson. The Sens were in control of this game in the first period and having the first two Panther shots end up in the net certainly took the wind out of their sails a little bit. I’ll take the blame though- I was wearing a Craig Anderson jersey last night. Never again.
-Nice to see Max McCormick get his first last night. McCormick has been doing everything in his power to get noticed during this call up and it’s safe to assume the Coaching staff and Management appreciate his efforts. McCormick was a 6th round pick in the 2011 draft and considered a long shot to make it to the NHL. But his hard work has paid off and now he certainly looks like a player that can take a regular shift with this team. Was interesting to see the response from the crowd last night when his first goal was announced. Seemed a little more enthusiastic than usual. I think we may have a new fan favourite on our hands.
-For anyone who has ever bought a 50/50 ticket at a Senators game, you’ll appreciate this one. I always buy a ticket when I’m at the game. And honestly, I’ve never even been close. Sometimes it feels like I’m in an entirely different draw. Off by millions every time. So last night when the winning number flashed up on the screen, I barely even paid attention. I listened to the number they called out and halfheartedly searched for my ticket. 8…7..0…3…0…3. I glanced down at my ticket and for a moment, I’m convinced my heart completely stopped. There it was. One my ticket. 870303. By this time the winning number had been taken down from the screen but I kept repeating the number in my head. 870303. I had it. I quickly went to Twitter to see if the number had been announced on there. And that’s where instead of $20,000 in my pocket, this just became another hilarious chapter in the SensChirp Curse. 870330. Pretty close though.
@sensfoundation The Curse lives on. pic.twitter.com/MQ2h5hA45H
— SensChirp (@SensChirp) January 8, 2016
