FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Another night where the Senators outshot an opponent. Shots against were such a huge problem for this team in the first few months of the season but the tide seems to be turning a little bit. The Sens have been much better in their own end of the rink the last little while and last night against the Bruins, the offence was there too. If not for the play of Tuukka Rask, this game would have been pretty one-sided.
-Much was made about retribution and revenge heading into this game but as you’d expect, the physical side of things never really materialized. With the two teams so close to each other in the standings and every game so important, neither team wanted to let that side of things distract them from the task at hand. The game was physical at times but it’s pretty clear that whatever animosity existed between these two teams at the end of December has pretty much faded.
-It’s amazing how much the return of Milan Michalek has stabilized the Senators’ forward combinations. Having that extra veteran in the line up allows for a more natural divide between the team’s top six and bottom six and results in four pretty strong line combinations. Going to be interesting to see what Cameron does with Alex Chiasson going forward because right now, there just isn’t room for him in the line up.
-We all want to see more of Shane Prince but now that Milan Michalek is back, that seems a little less urgent. And it certainly helps that the Prince-Smith-Neil combination is playing so well. Those three combined for 8 shots on goal last night and did a great job of making life difficult for the Bruins. Prince certainly seem capable of playing more minutes but having him play around ten minutes a night on the fourth line certainly gives the Senators some balance throughout the line up.
-The discussion is no longer “Is Erik Karlsson the best defenceman in the game?” but rather “Is Erik Karlsson the best player in the game?”. He’s been that good this season. Two more points for Karlsson last night, bringing his total to 45 on the season. That has him ranked 4th in the league in points. He leads the entire Eastern Conference in points…by 6! He’s a favourite for the Norris Trophy and absolutely has to be part of the Hart Trophy discussion too.
