FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-The way those first ten minutes went last night, it looked like this was going to be an ugly one. The New York Rangers were in complete control of the game, registering the first ten shots and jumping out to an early 1-0 lead. Missing a couple key players, it would have been easy for the Senators to stand idle and watch things crumble around them. Madison Square Garden can be a tough building to play in when the home side gets rolling and that was the way this game felt in the early going. But then, the Senators completely flipped the switch. Like a different team entirely. Beyond that first ten minutes, this was as one-sided a game as the Sens have played all year. Complete dominance from start to err from ten minutes in to finish.
-It’s only been 13 games but I’ll admit, these Ottawa Senators have me thoroughly bamboozled. I think they’re a last place team but that’s almost entirely based on the speculation coming into the season and the way the line up looks on paper. Because when I watch them, this just doesn’t look like a group content with finishing 31st overall. There’s no quit where you’d expect it. They are almost always at least in the hockey game. They aren’t getting massively outshot every night. In fact, with a full line up that includes the likes of Logan Brown and Colin White, this team seems like they could be kind of not terrible. At the same time, games against the Rangers, Sharks and Red Wings have served as a good reminder that there are some other pretty terrible teams out there. Ottawa wakes up this morning in 28th overall. Nine points out of a playoff spot, with a game in hand, if that’s your sort of thing.
-Jean Gabriel Pageau is quietly putting together one hell of a season. On a team that’s been stuck at the bottom of the standings, it’s sort of remarkable that he continues to sit second in the league in plus minus. Ya sure it’s a flawed stat (so is corsi) but in this case, it’s an indication of a player that’s doing the right things out there. This also happens to be a contract year for Pageau. Teams are definitely going to call about Pageau leading up to the deadline but the Senators need Pageau during this rebuild a lot more than they need another second round pick. Assuming the price is reasonable and the term is manageable, the Senators should try to find a way to keep Pageau around.
-Based on what we heard from DJ Smith over the weekend, it certainly sounds like Erik Brannstrom could be the odd man out when the Senators visit the New York Islanders later tonight. Smith would like to get Cody Goloubef into a game and at the same time, they seem to think there may be some value in a young kid like Brannstrom watching a game from up top. Brannstrom’s season has been and up and down. While the “flash” hasn’t really been in there in the offensive end of the rink, he does seem like a player beyond his years in the defensive zone. Good reads, strong positioning and clean breakouts. Next step is going to be on the coaching staff to give him a little bit more rope offensively because he’s still playing a pretty safe game out there.
-The word “beauty” gets thrown around a lot in the hockey world as sort of a catch all term but it’s just the perfect way to describe Mark Borowiecki. A hard-working guy on and off the ice, who cares more about the logo on the front of the jersey than the name on the back. He’d do anything to win and would do anything to stick up for his teammates. In the analytics-heavy era we live in these days, those things that can’t be measured often get dismissed but they still matter. And they always will. Whether it’s dropping the gloves to defend a teammates or creating a memory that will last a lifetime for a young fan, the guy just gets it. The Senators are lucky to have their prospects learning what it means to be a pro from a guy like Mark Borowiecki.
Smith’s Post-Game Comments
Player Interviews
Advanced Stats
Boxscore
Loading …Up next- @ Islanders (Tonight), vs. Kings (Thursday), vs. Hurricanes (Saturday)
