FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-There are frustrating losses and then there’s last night’s loss. To watch the Senators storm back from three goals down only to let it slip away moments later is infuriating enough. To have an awful call be at the centre of it all brings the level of frustration to another level entirely. Obviously Ottawa didn’t do themselves any favours by spotting the defending Western Conference Champions a three goal lead but the game again within their grasp and slipped away.
-Weird thing about this game is even when they were down a few goals, it just sort of felt like they were going to come back. Watching the way the guys on the bench reacted to Mark Borowiecki fight with Ryan Reaves you could tell they they were still in the game and all they needed was a spark. The fight followed by a goal by Matt Duchene shortly after ended up being the jolt they needed. They didn’t come away with any points but watching the way the Senators responded when down three goals against a good Vegas team shows that they are playing with a ton of confidence right now. At least when their best players are on the ice, anyway. Bottom half of the line up wasn’t good enough.
-Okay back to that 5th Vegas goal. Usually I’m pretty plugged into any rule changes the league makes but did I miss a memo where they declared that goaltender interference was no longer a thing? Because that’s the only logical explanation for that botched call. In the same league where a gentle nudge is enough to cancel out a goal, they allowed a Vegas forward to sit on Craig Anderson while a goal was being scored. Like, sitting directly on top of him. And that’s okay apparently. Even if you think that Anderson was the one that initiated contact (he was trying to make a save when contact was made), there is just no way you can allow that level of prolonged contact with a goalie while a goal is being scored. I know goalie interference will never be black and white but in a situation like that, it should be. Rule 246.8- There shall be no sitting on the goalie.
-Thomas Chabot’s start has gone from pleasant surprise to completely ridiculous to uhh is this really happening to once in a generation. With two more points vs. the Golden Knights, Chabot brought his season total to 22. That’s tied for 3rd in the league. That’s two points clear of the next closest defenceman. That’s a total that puts him among elite company including the likes of Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin and Ray Bourque. Thomas Chabot is 21 years old, by the way.
-The craziest thing about watching Chabot right now is that he looks the same as he did in those QMJHL highlights we used to watch. Only now he’s playing with that level of confidence against NHL competition. There is just something about the way he plays the game that looks so effortless. Like he’s the best player on the ice in your Sunday night pick-up game. Only Thomas Chabot is doing it in the best league in the world. He’s going to cool off at some point obviously but watching him through the first 16 games of the season, it’s clear that he’s going to be one of the league’s best defenceman for a long time.
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