FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Well I’d say that just about does it. After the miracle that was last season, a lot of us have sort of been holding out hope that maybe, just maybe this team might find that spark again. And then after those convincing wins over the Leafs and Lightning, it looked like they had suddenly found their way. Bu three straight losses, at the hands of the Red Wings, Avalanche and Blue Jackets, have this year’s team on the ropes. They sit seven points back of the Penguins for the second Wild Card spot and have played three more games. Their playoff chances have no dipped below two percent.
-It’s not that the Columbus Blue Jackets were ever going to be an easy two points. They have been pretty bad most of the year but have been playing some better hockey of late and are actually just four points back of the Senators after last night. I don’t know if the Senators took them lightly but Dave Cameron’s team was nowhere near good enough through the first 40 minutes of this hockey game. They seemed to find their legs a little bit in the third period but this was just not a good effort in a game that was damn close to a must-win.
-It’s kind of hard to pin-point what has gone wrong for this team the last three games. And honestly, I’m not sure it’s been the same thing every night. In Detroit, an abysmal power play let them down. Against Colorado, they couldn’t kill off a penalty to save their lives. And then last night, well last night they just didn’t seem to have any energy from the moment the puck was dropped. And really, at this stage of the season, there’s no excuse for that.
-And now a positive- the play of Binghamton Senators’ call-up Ryan Dzingel. In his first three games, Cameron was a little hesitant to play him (9:07, 7:52, 5:43) but against Colorado and Columbus, you could see that Cameron’s trust in the 23 year old American forward had grown steadily. Dzingel is a quick skater, with great vision. He’s hard on the puck and seems responsible in his own end. I definitely want to see more of him down the stretch. I’m not suggesting he’s a top six guy but I really think Dzingel could be a perfect fit on the third or fourth line.
-For all the anger and frustration directed Mika Zibanejad’s way the last little while, he’s still on track for a career-year. Two more points last night, bringing him to 35 on the season. There’s a decent chance he’ll hit 50 points when it’s all said and done. I get the frustration over Zibanejad. He’s the type of player that always sort of leaves you wanting more. But I think maybe sometimes we forget that the guy is 22 years old. He can obviously play better than he has the last little while but we also need to be patient with the guy.
