FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Credit to Matt O’Connor for a pretty solid performance in the first start of his NHL career. Obviously that first goal is one he would like to have back but he was pretty busy back there and did a good job of keeping Ottawa in the game until that fluke goal beat him in the third period. O’Connor certainly wasn’t expected to be starting in the NHL this early but he did a pretty good job with the opportunity.
-It’s early in the season so you would sort of expect that may take a few guys to get up to speed but Bobby Ryan’s play during the first three games has to be a bit of a concern. And yes, it’s only three games. But he just doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of jump in his legs so far. Much was made about Ryan using a different training regime this off season so I guess I was sort of expecting some noticeable improvement early on. Haven’t really seen it yet.
-The good news (or bad news, I suppose), is that Bobby Ryan isn’t the only one. Outside of the top line it sort of looks like the majority of the roster is almost a step slower. Again, it takes time to get up to speed but usually that’s why training camp is so important. To get the team going so that they can hit the ground running when the games start for real. Considering the way they’ve played, the Senators should be thrilled with a 2-1-0 start.
-We knew coming into this season that if the Senators were going to have issues it was more than likely going to be the defence that held them back. A lot of the talk during the preseason seemed to be focused on the third pairing of Cowen and Borowiecki but to this point, I think that second pair is more of a concern. Cody Ceci has looked decent but Patrick Wiercioch doesn’t look like the same defenceman that finished last season with an appearance for Team Canada at the World Championships. Again, it’s only been three games.
-Both teams were on a back to back so it really doesn’t hold up as an excuse but you could tell that the Senators just didn’t have much jump in the first back to back of the year. Ottawa now has a couple days off before another back to back on the road so getting some rest today will be important before they back to work on Tuesday. The Senators are in Columbus on Wednesday and in Pittsburgh on Thursday before returning home to face the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
