FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-There may be a little bit of recency bias playing into this post-game assessment but that was honestly one of the most impressive performances by an Ottawa Senators team in recent memory. After a slow start where they got down a couple goals early against a good Washington team, the Sens cranked it up to a level we haven’t seen them hit in years and just refused to let up. Relentless, is probably the word for it actually. Over the final forty minutes of the game, they outshot the Capitals by a staggering 37 to 12 margin. It’s not that they blew them out obviously, adding a couple empty net goals to what was a one-goal lead, but they just dominated in every phase of the game from the first intermission on. Really, really impressive.
-And perhaps what makes the win especially enjoyable is it truly was a top to bottom team effort, kind of thing. Not relying on a dominant performance by a single player or an outstanding goaltending effort but just a really impressive mix of skill and hard work, with every player in the lineup playing a part along the way. If the Ottawa Senators are going to get that kind of effort from all four lines on a regular basis then they are going to absolutely steamroll some unsuspecting opponents this year. This team has built up a good reputation as a group that plays hard under DJ Smith but now they play hard and have talent on all four lines. Tough to contain when everyone is pulling in the same direction.
-Now with a couple thoughts on the dominant effort of the 18 skaters, it’s only fair to send a tip of the cap in Anton Forsberg’s direction. Because while the team in front of him controlled the play for long stretches, he still had to make a few game-saving stops in that third period and none were more impressive than a little glove-hand thievery on Marcus Johansson. He would make a couple more stops shortly after that and help the Senators lock it down in the closing minutes. Not a busy night for Forsberg by any stretch but he was certainly there when called upon.
-It’s amazing how quickly Jake Sanderson has made that transition from intriguing prospect, to key piece of the team’s future, to key piece of the team’s present. There is supposed to be an often lengthy settling in period for a young defenceman but it honestly looks like Jake Sanderson has been doing this is whole life. Between periods, Marc Methot went so far as to call him Ottawa’s best defenceman. There was a play in the second period where he took two effortless strides back towards his own end of the rink, pivoted quickly, closed the gap on the Caps forward and used his body to separate that player from the puck. It was textbook. Oh and that forward was Alex Ovechkin, by the way.
-All eyes are on the new players early in the year as fans are understandably eager to see how Claude Giroux, Alex DeBrincat and Tyler Motte settle in with their new team. So far, so good on all fronts. Giroux has been that calming veteran presence, with a couple big goals under his belt already. Alex DeBrincat has been shooting from everywhere and now with that first goal under his belt, you get the sense he’ll start scoring in bunches. Oh and he’s at a point a game pace too. Meanwhile, Tyler Motte has been as advertised. A high-energy player with skill that can play in all situations. Kind of crazy that he was just sitting there that late in the off-season.
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