FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Well that was certainly unexpected. Heading into that California road trip I think we all knew the Senators were playing some better hockey the last month or so but has we’ve learned, the West Coast is an entirely different challenge altogether. The teams out there are skilled, they’re big and in this situation, all three had something to play for. To come away with three straight wins (and five straight overall) in Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose is absolutely unbelievable. The fact that they were able to do it in a situation where they needed wins to keep their faint playoff hopes alive is even that much more amazing.
-Seven points back with a couple games in hand. It would have been nice to get a favour from New Jersey or Arizona over the weekend but that was unlikely. The Bruins had a couple soft games on their schedule and they made the mostof them. Really doesn’t change the situation much. The Senators are still hovering around the 23% chance of making it, depending on which site you ask. The Bruins don’t play again till Thursday which will give Ottawa a chance to play their games in hand on Tuesday and Wednesday night.
-Losing the shutout streak early in last night’s game didn’t really seem to phase Andrew Hammond. He gave up that early one but then made a handful of great stops in the first period to keep the game close. The Sharks didn’t test him a whole lot in the second and third periods but Hammond was sharp when he had to be.
-There was a play in last night’s game, where for the first time since the injury a couple seasons ago, I actually felt like I was watching Erik Karlsson at 100%. He had just turned the puck over at the offensive blueline and two Sharks forwards were racing the other way. From a dead stop, Karlsson seemed to hit full speed in about two strides, and then powered effortlessly past both players and recovered the puck. I can say quite confidently that no other player in the game could have made that play. Karlsson was at his jaw-dropping best last night.
-The incredible rookie season of Mike Hoffman continued last night. He extended his rookie goal scoring lead by scoring twice, including his first power play goal of the season. He’s up to 23 on the season. You know Hoffman and his agent have to be seeing dollar signs right now and are happy with their decision to hold off on contract talks until the summer. Safe to say both sides will be looking for a long term deal.
-Bonus thought- Not expecting a busy day for the Senators tomorrow but there are a few things Murray is working on right now that could make tomorrow an interesting one. As always, I’ll be posting everything I hear over the course of the day here on SensChirp. It’s become tougher and tougher to actually “break” deals the last couple years but I always find that I hear some interesting rumours/speculation when it comes to Deadline Day. Stay tuned to the site for all the latest! I have a feeling that all-time comment record could be in danger tomorrow.
