FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-After an ugly loss on Monday night in Detroit, you have to be pretty impressed with the way the Senators responded in a back to back situation. This Arizona team is young and obviously not an elite team by any stretch but they were a well-rested group playing just their second game of the season. Ottawa still managed to control the game for long stretches and come away with the two points. Offence from throughout the line up too with seven different players scoring goals. Shots against was an issue (35 shots including 18 in the first period) and four goals against is too many (Anderson wasn’t sharp), but that’s a game they deserved to win.
-So is it too early to start the Erik Karlsson for Norris campaign? Okay, what about the Hart Trophy? Through four games, it’s pretty clear that the Captain has taken his game to another level. I didn’t think it was possible after that 82 point campaign he had last year but he honestly looks like he’s found an extra gear. What’s most impressive about it is he continues to pile up points (7 in 4 games) but he’s also made countless solid defensive plays. He capped this one off with a blocked shot at one end, blinding speed through the neutral zone, and a skate to stick empty net goal. And for all you Norris Trophy voters out there- he leads the league in plus/minus.
-What a find Tom Pyatt is turning out to be for the bottom six. Convincing Pierre Dorion to sign Pyatt was one of Guy Boucher’s first moves with the organization and it’s pretty easy to see why. He’s been playing in relative obscurity in Switzerland the last couple years but he’s clearly got the skills to play in the NHL. He’s one of the forwards Boucher uses to settle the game down at 5 on 5 and he’s been a regular on the penalty kill. He picked up his second goal of the season along with a shorthanded assist, he was a +4 and he led all forwards in ice time with 19:17.
-Maybe it’s partly because the team has had such terrible luck when it comes to concussions but it’s hard not to be a little bit concerned about Mark Stone. In games against Montreal and Detroit, he went to the room briefly and then in the first period of this one he seemed a little bit dazed after a first period collision with Dylan Strome. He then took another solid hit in the second but seemed fine afterwards. The team’s doctors are obviously keeping a close eye on him given the preseason injury but I sort of worry that these seemingly minor head-shots might be adding up. Sure was nice to see him score one in the third after what seemed like a frustrating forty minutes.
-There were red flags when they didn’t sell out their home opener. And while the crowd was significantly larger against the Canadiens, it did seem like there were more Habs fans there than usual. Well on Tuesday night, attendance officially became a story worth talking about. The announced attendance- 11,061. This is as tough a draw as you can get early in the season (Arizona, a Tuesday in October, lots of home games coming up) but still. And if that’s the attendance they say at the game, there’s a good chance the paid tickets is even less than that. Conversation about attendance issues should be put in the proper context though- other than being a little bit embarrassing for the fan base, bad for the atmosphere at games and potentially harmful to the team’s already shoestring operating budget, prolonged attendance issues would mostly just bad news for Melnyk’s already struggling bottom line. And no, that doesn’t mean he’d pack up the team and move. Pack up the team and sell? Maybe. In the short term, winning (and not playing Arizona on a Tuesday that the Blue Jays are in the ALCS) will probably help though.
–Boucher Post-Game Comments
–Box Score
–Advanced Stats
–Upcoming Schedule
