FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-If the Senators can string together a series of efforts like the ones we saw against the Tampa Bay Lightning and again last night against the Vegas Golden Knights, our dreams of a high draft pick next June might be in a wee bit of trouble. For the second time already this season, the Senators gave a would-be Stanley Cup Contender everything they could handle and more. While the Senators would obviously want to cut down on the number of shots against, they went toe to toe with the Knights last night and showed no signs of backing down at any point. In fact, they flat out dominated the overtime session and probably deserved a better fate in this one. It’s going to be a process but there are signs that DJ Smith has this group pointed in the right direction.
-Of course a lot of the credit goes to Anders Nilsson who was at times spectacular in the Ottawa net. It never looks that way with Nilsson because he’s so huge in the net but a bunch of those saves he made last night were certainly high in difficulty. It’s funny too because after the first goal he let in, it looked like it might be a long night for Nilsson. But he did a great job of refocusing after that one and gave his team every chance to win the hockey game. At the other end of the rink, Marc Andre Fleury was a little less busy but every bit as spectacular.
-There are plenty of names on Ottawa’s roster that will be made available leading up to the deadline. Their current roster is littered with expiring contracts and a few of them are likely to draw interest by playoff-bound team. Dylan DeMelo certainly fits into that category. He’s set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and as we hear all the time, right-shot defenceman are highly sought after around the league. DeMelo has been averaging about 16 minutes a night, including the 5th most amount of time on the penalty kill (3rd among defenceman). DeMelo is the kind of guy you may want to bring back on a cheap, short-term deal if he’s interested but it will obviously depend on what the Sens can fetch for him on the open market.
-It really has been fascinating watching Erik Brannstrom through the first five games of the season. He’s just so far from the player I was expecting. Because of the hype surrounding him as a prospect, there was this assumption that he would show up in Ottawa and dazzle with his offensive ability. And obviously that just hasn’t happened yet. But what’s amazing about Brannstrom, is how competent he seems to be in his own end of the rink. Smart player, always in the right spot and despite his size, willing to engage physically. It’s really impressive for a player his age. As far as the offensive side of his game goes, it just seems like he needs to do everything a little bit quicker. He’s making the right reads but just a fraction of a second too slow most of the time. Really think confidence is his biggest issue offensively. Last night was a rough one for him but hope DJ Smith continues to lean on him. Kid seems like he can handle it.
-It’s sort of amazing how subtle the league has been when it comes to phasing out fighting from the game of hockey. It’s still allowed but it wasn’t long ago that it was a central part of the sport. And now, the sight of two guys enthusiastically dropping their gloves and squaring off to fight just looks…odd. A good scrap still has the ability to ignite a bench and lift the fans out of their seats but it’s just not the way it used to be. And based on everything we know about concussions, that’s probably a good thing. That first period tilt between Scott Sabourin and Ryan Reaves was a throwback to an era long-gone. Full credit to Sabourin for hanging in there against the scariest guy in the league with his gloves off. It’s not a popular opinion these days but I still kind of like fighting and more importantly, respect the hell out of guys that do it.
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