FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-We’ll start with the Eric Gryba hit. I looked at it a few times in slow motion last night and I really don’t see anything suspension-worthy there. The biggest issue, and I don’t see anybody really talking about it, is did Gryba leave his feet? I watched a few times and think he does keep the one skate on the ice. Initial contact is certainly shoulder to chest, then the head snaps back afterwards. The NHL has become a pretty friendly place over the last couple years but I would be shocked if they decided a hit like that was against the rules. You can see an image of the initial contact here and a GIF of the play here.
-I got a little excited about the hit on Mark Borowiecki right after it happened but after watching it a couple of times, I think the league should let that one go too. Borowiecki bobbled the puck at the last second and tried to turn away from the forechecking Blue Jacket. I still think Corey Tropp could have let up on the play but at that point he was coming in pretty fast. Dangerous play but not suspension worthy. The Chris Neil play was harmless as well. Hand started on the helmet and slipped to the eye area. The extra two minutes is fine there but no other discipline required. Neil has been fighting his whole career and never intentionally eye-gouged an opponent.
-All eyes were on Jared Cowen as he returned to the line up after five games in the pressbox and I think his game would best be described as…”better”. He seemed to be in a better position in his own end and was clearly making a conscious effort to make the safe, smart play. It was definitely a step in the right direction for Cowen. I expect him to stay in the line up for Thursday’s game against the Hawks. Patrick Wiercioch may still get into the line up though with the league likely looking at Gryba’s hit and Borowiecki a little banged up. We shall see.
-Robin Lehner was damn good last night. In fact, Lehner has been damn good all season. He’s now 3-0-1 on the season with a 2.18 GAA and a .939 save percentage. He even picked up an assist on the game winning goal last night. With both Lehner and Anderson at the top of their game, Paul MacLean is always going to have a tough decision to make when it comes to hi starting goalie. It’s a nice problem for a Head Coach to have. Both goalies are giving this team a chance to win every night.
-MacLean will also have to make a decision on what to do with his forwards going into tomorrow night’s game against Chicago. Mike Hoffman needs to get back in the line up and with one line already featuring three right hand shots, the Senators could obviously use another lefty in there to balance out the lines a little bit. A quick glance at the scoresheet shows that Chris Neil played just over 9 minutes last night and a glance at the advanced stats suggests they weren’t the best nine minutes. I honestly don’t know if Neil is an option to be scratched in the mind of the Coach but right now, it’s quite clearly his turn.
