FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-I think we all knew a game against the Washington Capitals would be tough but it’s safe to say that last night’s rout exceeded our expectations of difficulty. From the moment the puck was dropped the Caps showed why they are the league’s top team. Ottawa was briefly able to close within a goal but the reality is, this was a game the Caps controlled from start to finish. There’s a reason why they are Stanley Cup favourites.
-It’s unfortunate that it had to happen against the Ottawa Senators but it was pretty cool to see Alex Ovechkin score the 500th goal of his career, further solidifying his place as one of the greatest goal scorers in the history of the game. Although I don’t know that I’d put him at the top of that list, as others have. More than anything, it made me feel kind of old because it seems like just yesterday that Ovechkin was lighting it up as a rookie in the league and now he’s already hit the 500 goal mark. Let’s just hope his future milestones come against teams other than the Senators.
-Andrew Hammond has looked pretty good this season and certainly looks like a capable NHL back up. But like so many of the Senators, last night is one he’s going to want to forget. He didn’t have a chance on a couple of those Washington goals but in general, this was not his best outing. Normally a goalie might get pulled after the 5th or 6th goal but because Craig Anderson was scheduled for a day off, Hammond had to grind his way through this one. I expect Anderson to start all three games out West with Hammond’s next start coming at the end of next week when the Sens play back to back against the Devils and Islanders.
-Going to be interesting to see how the Senators handle Freddy Claesson going forward. He has been so impressive in the early going but mostly because I think we all had fairly low expectations when he was first called up. Claesson has looked like a competent NHL defenceman but the speed of the pro game seemed to catch him off guard at times last night. Granted this was a game against the top team in the league but I thought Claesson looked a little overwhelmed last night. Carrying 8 defenceman on the roster isn’t exactly the ideal scenario so I expect something to give here pretty soon.
-As ugly as that game was last night, the Senators need to forget about it in a hurry. The timing of such a resounding defeat wasn’t great for an Ottawa team that had actually been playing much better of late. Games like this are going to happen over the course of a season and it’s how you bounce back that really matters. No easy games coming up for the Sens either as they hit the road for four straight, including a three game swing through California.
