FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-It’s amazing how much just one win can change the mood around the hockey team. Through about 38 minutes, the Senators appeared to be well on their way to a third consecutive shutout. The time without a goal clock was quickly climbing towards franchise record territory and the comment section was becoming increasingly unpleasant. And then with one power play goal, everything changed. And that’s all it takes sometimes. That one goal made a difference for fans but you could also tell it helped the players loosen up a little bit. Hockey is such a fascinating game. It can look so difficult for a team that’s struggling but when things start to click, a seemingly harmless shot like the one Bobby Ryan took on the power play finds the back of the net.
-You would be hard pressed to find a more ridiculous stretch of hockey than the one the Senators and Blues played leading up to the overtime winner by Bobby Ryan. Missed calls, great chances, terrible changes, guys falling all over the ice, Turris playing with one glove for some reason, a game-saving defensive play by Patrick Wiercioch on a 3 on 1. It was just complete madness. I’m not sure how it’s possible but it seems like 3 on 3 hockey gets better every time I watch it. Not super entertaining when teams have a chance to set up defensively but the action off the rush is just incredible. This is one of the best changes the league has made in years.
-Much has been made about the decision to take Mike Hoffman off the top power play unit in favour of Zack Smith and with good reason. The Senators had one of the hottest power plays in the league before Hoffman was moved to unit two and there really wasn’t any clear reason for the switch. The whole if it ain’t broke don’t fix it rule seems to apply here. Smith can take faceoffs on the left hand side and is seen as a better net front presence but those things really don’t make up for what Hoffman brings to the top unit. Zack Smith has had a terrific bounce back season but that doesn’t mean we need to make him into something he isn’t. It’s worth pointing out that Hoffman has kinda struggled a little bit lately too but at this point, he’s too important a player to be punished when he struggles.
-Another really strong effort between the pipes by Andrew Hammond. The Sens have had their issues this season but goaltending really hasn’t been a problem at any point, either with Hammond or with Craig Anderson. This sort of seemed like a quiet performance from Hammond but he actually made some big saves to keep this a two goal game and then was very sharp in the third period when the Blues started to push. Hammond now has a career record of 23-4-4 including a 1.90 GAA and a .938 SV%.
-Really scary incident in the first period when Mika Zibanejad left the ice in a hurry after taking a stick to the face. The way Zibanejad left the ice you can’t help but worry about the eye area. And then the fact that Zibanejad wasn’t able to return to the game only makes things seem worse. The team spoke briefly about the injury after the game and confirmed that it was a stick in the eye area. The team is hoping to know a little bit more today. With MacArthur and Michalek already out, this team really can’t afford to lose another forward. If Zibanejad is out for a stretch, Ryan Dzingel and Eric O’Dell seem like good candidates for a call up.
