FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Tanking is for losers anyway. As in, teams that can lose games. Which apparently, the Ottawa Senators have completely forgotten how to do. Seriously though, what the heck got into this team the last couple games? With Mark Stone left behind in Ottawa, it really felt like these two games could pretty ugly for the ol’ Senators. Wrong again, SensChirp. First they cruise to a win over one of the league’s hottest teams and then they hang seven on top team in the NHL? Wild. 12 goals in two games and an ill-timed four points. The good news is Montreal won too so the Senators didn’t gain any ground on the team directly ahead of them in the standings.
-That Tampa Bay Lightning team may be sitting atop the NHL standings but nothing about the way they are playing screams “Stanley Cup Contender”. Their offensive fire power is obviously their strength but the rest of their game just feels a little bit too loose for playoff time. And it’s not just lately. The Senators have played them four times this season, scoring an average of 4.75 goals per game. When the Ottawa Senators are posting those kind of numbers against you, it might be time to take a look at your defensive structure. If the Lightning fall into that 2/3 match up in the Atlantic, I think they might be vulnerable. They certainly couldn’t beat Ottawa in a seven game series right now.
-Imagine being so good that you could still outscore every other player at your position in an off-year? Because that’s where things are at with Erik Karlsson right now. With a goal and an assist, he has now closed within three points of John Klingberg for the lead among defenceman. Karlsson has played six fewer games too. With 54 points in 64 games, Karlsson also sits 2nd in points per game with 0.84. It’s worth reminding ourselves that he missed an entire off-season due to major surgery and that he has played the early part of the season on one good leg. Might wanna hang on to that guy.
-In these meaningless games, you often hear talk of guys playing for contracts. That’s exactly the situation facing Magnus Paajarvi. As an unrestricted free agent at season’s end and as a player that was on waivers earlier this year, Paajarvi has to be thinking about the possibility that this might be his last chance to make an impression in the NHL. And he’s certainly making the most of the opportunity. The Senators have to be careful about clogging up the bottom six again but if they can find a way to get rid of Burrows and maybe Gaborik, there could be a spot for Paajarvi among the 12 forwards next season, assuming he’s interested in coming back to Ottawa.
-For those of you that are interested in hearing a grown man embarrass himself, I’ll be making an appearance on The Drive with Ian Mendes and Shawn Simpson later this afternoon. Probably somewhere around 2:30 PM. This will be my first experience on live radio outside of that time I called into the post-game show and was cut off for swearing. I used to want to do sports radio or TV for a living but but now the idea terrifies me. Far more comfortable hiding behind the keyboard in my mom’s basement. So basically if I can get through the hour without swearing or crying, it will be considered a success.
Boucher’s Post-Game Comments
Player Interviews
League Standings
Boxscore
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