FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Well that was a kick in the vibes. Just a couple days after the high of the home opener, the Senators fell flat in the most spectacular way, laying an egg against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. For everything the Sens did right against the Panthers on Thursday, they looked a whole lot like last year’s edition of the team in this one. It was one of those games where even the most optimistic among us would have a hard time finding positives. It’s not that they got dominated but they just seemed spectacularly lifeless, which is pretty damn concerning in the second game of the season.
-The term “let down game” was being tossed around a bit following this loss and with all due respect, give me a freaking break. While I understand it can be difficult for the team to recapture the energy of a Home Opener, this particular collection of hockey players just doesn’t get to have “let down games” this early in the season. Too much attention has been placed on the idea of starting strong and the idea that their focus and motivation might dip a bit in the second game of the season just isn’t gonna fly around these parts. It’s a Saturday night in Montreal, against a division rival and it’s the second friggin’ game of the season. It shouldn’t be hard to get up for a game this early
-Listening to Travis Green’s post-game remarks, it did seem like there were elements of the game that they were generally okay with. The Bell Centre can be a tough building to play in at times and in those first ten minutes anyway, the Senators did seem generally under control. A decent road start, as the Coach pointed out. At the same time, they really didn’t give the Canadiens much. Montreal had just 11 shots on goal through 40 minutes, which is a good sign. All true, Travis. It was just the complete lack of in-game push-back that stood out in this one.
-It’s safe to say that we’ll learn a lot about this team on Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings. They couldn’t push-back in game but they damn well better find a way to turn in a better effort on home ice tomorrow afternoon. Whether it’s fair or not, these guys are going to be under a microscope of sorts during the first two months of the season and one of the things fans will be watching closely is their ability to right the ship at signs of trouble. That makes tomorrow’s game a biggy.
-Okay fine, maybe there were a couple positives hidden in there. Tim Stutzle has clearly hit the ground running this season and seems to have to come in with a plan to shoot the puck more. Three quick goals outta the gate including a lethal shot to beat Sam Montembeault last night. Also, Michael Amadio and Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson were all uh fine. Sorry, folks. That’s the best I can do with this one.
