FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-I think I said something similar after the comeback win against the St. Louis Blues a couple weeks ago, but this had the feel of a a turning point for the Ottawa Senators. To come back from two goals down in the third period against one of the league’s top teams in their building is pretty incredible. The Sens looked like they were down and out with just 12 minutes left on the clock but they woke up just in time for one of their biggest wins of the season. Listening to the guys talk after the game you could tell they needed a win like this. Hopefully they can build on it now.
-There was a sequence on a power play early in the third period where Mika Zibanejad completely fanned on a one timer attempt and then turned the puck over with a weak pass to the point. This felt like it was going to be another one of those nights for Mika. Nothing was going right for him. But he flicked the switch and just in the nick of time. The play he made on the Bobby Ryan goal was amazing and the power play goal was just as impressive. This has been such a strange season for Zibanejad. So inconsistent yet still has a chance at a career year in terms of points.
-Such a smart play by Jean Gabriel Pageau on the game tying goal. Just 26 seconds after Ryan had cut the Kings’ lead to one, Pageau used a lethal combination of speed and stick positioning to catch Jake Muzzin off-guard, and one-time an attempted pass through the legs of Jonathan Quick. Muzzin is a usually capable NHL defenceman and Pageau made him look silly on that play. Everything has seemed so difficult for the Senators the last little while that it was just so unexpected to see something made to look so easy. Aside from that one three minute shift where they stuck in their own end of the rink, the Chiasson-Pageau-Lazar line was pretty great for Ottawa yesterday.
-Pretty cool to see Mark Borowiecki score for the first time in 62 games. Even if it was an empty net goal shot from behind his own goal line. While often a target of criticism this season, there’s certainly never a shortage of work ethic and commitment to the team from Borowiecki. And you could see just how much the guys respect his efforts in the moments following that empty netter. Borowiecki wasn’t the only Senator to break a long scoring slump as Alex Chiasson notched his first in 27 games.
-The Karlsson vs. Doughty talk isn’t going anywhere and obviously is only magnified when the two go head to head. And generally, I’ve tried to stay out of the conversation. They’re both good players. Karlsson is obviously better but if you think otherwise, chances are you are pretty damn set on that opinion and for all the wrong reasons. Only of the most common arguments seems to be this idea that Karlsson doesn’t play the penalty kill (he does, by the way) so yesterday, I decided to watch Doughty closely on the PK. He turned the puck over three times on one kill and one of those giveaways led to the GWG by Zibanejad. So…yeah.
-Bonus thought- Last night, Travis Yost from TSN mentioned the Calgary Flames as a team that has shown some level of interest in Jared Cowen. And for the record, I have heard something similar in the last couple days. Not sure if there’s a fit there though. One of the rumours I had heard involved a swap of bad contract, with Ladislav Smid being sent Ottawa’s way. Not sure that works for Ottawa. The Senators have long had an interest in Kris Russell but it sounds like he may end up signing an extension with the Flames.
