Probably not how the Ottawa Senators would have drawn up day one of the preseason but you can’t take away much from a preseason game and even less when it’s a split squad game against the New York Islanders.
Losing to the Islanders twice in the same day is a rare feat (The Sens have done it twice now) but in preseason, it’s more about the individual performance than the results of the game. For MacLean, it’s a chance to find line combinations that work and see which young players are ready to push for a spot in the lineup. It’s tough to “break down” two radio preseason games but there were a few things that stood out on the first day of the preseason
-Turris and MacArthur are still clicking. This duo was incredible last season and seemed to have that same chemistry in the late game last night. This is a great sign for the Senators early on and should give MacLean a forward duo he can rely on to start the season. Who plays on the right side with that group is going to be interesting. Stone was there last night and played well there to end last season. Having Ryan as an option with Zibanejad is probably tempting for the Head Coach at this point.
-Curtis Lazar is going to make life difficult for the Senators. He was named the second star in his preseason debut and had Dean Brown and Gord Wilson raving most of the night. The team seemed to be using him as a centre early on in training camp but it sounded like last night he was on the wing with David Legwand. In terms of a transaction, it’s easy to return Lazar to Junior for another year. But the kid is ready for the big time. Ottawa may have to make room.
-Erik Karlsson is a special hockey player. Even in a radio broadcast, you can just hear the way Karlsson carries the play. There were times in the first period last night where it sounded like Karlsson was flying. Really looking forward to seeing him in action on Wednesday night against the Leafs.
-Probably the highlight of yesterday’s action- Colin Greening scoring in the shootout. The Newfoundland native had the crowd on their feet for his shootout attempt and he did not disappoint. Not a bad move from Greening either! It’s preseason but you could tell this was a special moment for Greening and the guys on the bench were obviously pretty thrilled for him.
-A little strange that Marc Methot didn’t appear in either game on Monday. According to the Head Coach, he has been nursing a minor injury throughout camp and wasn’t healthy enough to appear in either of yesterday’s preseason games. It’s not uncommon for vets to be cautious with minor injuries during training camp but there’s a bit of a cloud hanging over Marc Methot right now so it would be nice if he could get out there and just focus on the hockey side of things. Interested to see if he returns on Wednesday.
-And lastly, a few interesting notes from Elliotte Friedman in his most recent 30 Thoughts. He doesn’t exactly paint a pretty picture when it comes to negotiations with Bobby Ryan and Marc Methot.
