Senators Continue Raleigh with Win Over Carolina

SensChirp January 19, 2019 0

FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS

-It really looks like the Ottawa Senators have turned a corner. With Matt Duchene, Thomas Chabot and Jean Gabriel Pageau back in the line up, with Mark Stone playing at an elite level and with solid goaltending from Anders Nilsson, it’s pretty clear that this just isn’t a last place team. Maybe not a playoff team but certainly a group that could have at least been in the mix for a spot had they been able to keep everyone healthy. They now with 27th overall in the league standings and have a chance to climb a few more spots with another win in St. Louis tonight.

-One of the running themes of this year has been the rapid emergence of some of the team’s young players. Colin White, Max Lajoie, Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson have all had a turn. Christian Jaros too. Most recently, it has been the play of Christian Wolanin that is really turning heads. He just looks like a completely different player since his most recent call-up. In his early games, it seemed like Wolanin was having a difficult time with decision-making side of things, in that he wasn’t always sure when to jump into the play. And that hesitancy was present in all parts of his game. But he has really found that balance between defence and offence. The time he spent in Belleville really paid off and at this point it looks like he is here to stay.

-It’s such a shame when a hockey player becomes defined by his contract. That’s sort of what has happened to Bobby Ryan in Ottawa. Of course from his perspective, it’s nice that he has all that money in his bank account but that 7 year/$50 million dollar deal will always define the way people evaluate his play. It’s not his fault that the Senators had to overpay a little bit to lock-down a free agent and it’s also not his fault that it created mostly unreasonable expectations. And the horrible luck he’s had with hand injuries really isn’t his fault either. The fact is, when he’s healthy, Bobby Ryan has always been a pretty reliable player for the Senators. Obviously this recent stretch is on another level. It looks a little bit like Playoff Bobby. Points in eight of his last nine and ten points over that stretch.

-With all due respect to Craig Anderson (and that is a lot of respect for the best goalie in franchise history), I do hope he’s ready to hit the ground running tonight in St. Louis. Anderson has been dealing with a concussion and hasn’t played in a game since December 21st. He really only has a couple practices under his belt too. Ottawa’s defensive game has been much better over the last ten days or so but they do still need the odd big save from their goalie. And more importantly, none of those really weak one that have a tendency to deflate the team. Hope Andy is ready to go tonight in St. Louis.

-Which brings me to Anders Nilsson. He has just been so sharp during his time in Ottawa and he looked good again last night turning aside 33 of 34 Carolina shots including a couple highlight reel saves early in the game. Nilsson has won four of his last five starts and has had a save percentage north of .935% in each of his four wins. He is giving the Senators something they haven’t had in a couple years and that’s above average goaltending. While there may be the odd rebound and he may look a little scrambly at times, he’s keeping the puck out of the net. And that’s been a huge reason for Ottawa’s recent turnaround. He deserved a shutout last night.

-BONUS THOUGHT