FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Said it on Twitter last night but I think this may have been the best game Jared Cowen has played in a Senators’ uniform. Certainly didn’t think I would be typing that this year or ever again for that matter after the start he had . It’s pretty clear those five games watching from the pressbox woke Cowen up though. He was physical, he was making good decisions, winning puck battles and exiting the zone with poise and confidence. Cowen finished the night with 27:27 of ice time including two shots, two blocked shots and nine hits.
-A whole lot of hand-wringing over MacLean’s decision to put Colin Greening in for round six of the shootout last night. Greening made a great move during a preseason shootout in Newfoudnland and clearly the Coaching staff was hoping to recreate the magic from that night. It’s been a tough season for Greening and that obviously would have been a moment that meant a lot to him and the team. It was a hunch that just didn’t work out. MacArthur is 0 for 13 in his career and Hoffman missed that penalty shot in ugly fashion earlier this year. Greening wouldn’t have been my choice to shoot sixth but if one of Zibanejad, Karlsson or Turris scored and they never would have had to worry about the extra shooters.
-Another really strong effort from Craig Anderson. His rebounds seemed to be a little bigger than usual but he still made a ton of good stops and ensured the Senators came away with a single point. The one shot that did beat him, a Tobias Enstrom point shot, was damn near unstoppable. Last night was probably the best I’ve seen him in the shootout too. I’m assuming he’ll get the night off against the Leafs though.
-Coming away with a single point is a pretty good outcome for the Senators against a strong Winnipeg team. Especially when you consider that the Senators were without three important players, including two wingers out of their top six. The last minute injuries forced MacLean to shuffle his line up a little bit and the result was a pretty quiet night for the team offensively. Bobby Ryan and Alex Chiasson should both be available to play tonight.
-Interested to see how much is left in the tank for the final game of this four game homestand. Less than 24 hours between games and a weird start time will be tough for the Senators. The good news is the Leafs played last night too so they’ll be dealing with the same issues. Ottawa is headed on a week long road trip after tonight’s game so you know they would like to close things on a positive note. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 PM. Will have a Game Day post for that one up in a little bit.
