FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Coming into this week, these were commonly accepted as the biggest games of the year. Of course I couldn’t say it for fear of jinxing them but they definitely were. Hell, it’s hard to remember this team playing in bigger games in nearly six years. Yea, it’s been that long. So for them to show up the way they did, with the kind of performance where you have every single guy pitching in and every player pulling in the same direction…that’s as good as it gets. There’s still lots of work to do and many more big games ahead for this group but they can enjoy these two wins. And fans can too. That was the kind of effort we’ve been watching this team build towards for years. With last night’s win, the Senators jumped ahead of both Washington and Detroit in the standings and now sit five points back of the Penguins for the final spot. Although it’s the New York Islanders, who are six points clear, that the Senators should have their sights set on. Ottawa has four games in hand on them. In the mix.
-It almost feels unfair to single anyone out after the last two games so we’ll do it in groups instead. And it starts with the bottom six forwards. They have received their fair share of criticism over the course of the season but it was the bottom six that set the tone against the Red Wings and they didn’t let up for 120 minutes. You could see it happening early in the Monday game but it was pretty clear that there would be no free passes for the Red Wings in these two games and it was contagious throughout the lineup. Austin Watson, Mark Kastelic, Julien Gauthier, Mathieu Joseph, Dylan Gambrell and Derick Brassard all showed up in different ways and each one of them had a positive impact on the game. Relentless on the forecheck and causing complete panic on Detroit’s backend. Really encouraging performances all around.
-While the bottom six did their thing and gave the team quality minutes, it was the top six forwards that completely controlled these two hockey games. The line of DeBrincat-Pinto-Batherson was solid at even strength and both DeBrincat and Batherson pitched in on the power play. Meanwhile that trio of Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux dominated. And even that doesn’t seem like a strong enough word. Those three were the best players on the ice every time they were out there and the Red Wings had no answer. No player that could match the skill of those three and nobody that came remotely close to their “give a shit” level. When your best players have that kind of drive, it’s tough to stop and it drags the whole team along.
-And lastly, the goaltending and defence. On Monday night, Cam Talbot was excellent, especially getting off to a bit of a rocky start. Mads Søgaard followed that up with a similar performance. That first goal is one he would like back but he completely shut the door after that and looked damn confident along the way. And the goalies looked good because the defenders in front of them did their job. It started with Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson, as it often does, but the other four guys were good too. Artem Zub’s fight seemed to spark his team and set the tone for the rest of the night. Erik Brannstrom was quietly excellent through both games. Nick Holden was his usual steady self. And Travis Hamonic showed the value of having a guy like Travis Hamonic in games like this. We’ll throw DJ Smith in here too actually because clearly had his team ready to go in both games. Top to bottom, every single player did their job in these two games and it was damn fun to watch.
-Although it would be understandable if you thought the NHL Trade Deadline already happened after the flurry of deals on Tuesday, we’re actually still a couple days away. The Senators have been walking that tight rope between seller and buyer over the last couple weeks but after two big wins on home ice, you’d have to think Pierre Dorion is at least leaning in the buyer direction. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean a flashy addition before the deadline (although I’m expecting a splash, of sorts) but it may influence the way they approach certain expiring contracts, like say Austin Watson, who may have just played his best two games as an Ottawa Senator. There is no way you can look those guys in the eye after these two games and say you’re moving out a heart and soul guy for a late draft pick. Can’t happen. Won’t happen.
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