FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-With their best defenceman out of the lineup, that may have been one of Ottawa’s most impressive sixty minute efforts of the season. After giving up that early goal to Nick Suzuki, it would have been pretty easy for the Senators to roll over but they did the exact opposite. Ottawa was the better team most of the way and certainly deserved to come away with the win. They completed dominated in the overtime period too. After playing it safe earlier in the season with his OT choices, DJ Smith let the kids run with it at 3 on 3 and it payed off in a big way.
-In a rebuilding year, success will ultimately be measured in the development of young players. It’s not necessarily about wins and losses but rather, seeing the progression of the team’s young core. With that being said, it sure is nice to keep hanging L’s on the likes of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. The Senators have won just five times in 20 tries this season with four of those wins coming against the Leafs and Habs. If we must finish at the bottom of this North Division, it’s nice to embarrass our rivals a little bit along the way.
-As we get further we get into this strange season, it’s becoming clear that the Ottawa Senators are nothing like the team we saw during the depths of that nine-game losing streak. Every bounce was going the wrong way, goaltending was an issue and as DJ Smith mentioned, it was a fragile group. But since that first win against the Montreal Canadiens a little over two weeks ago, this is a completely different team. The puck is finally starting to bounce their way, goaltending has been much better and they look like a confident group. The hole they’ve put themselves in is probably too deep to dig out of but as a team, they have to feel pretty good about where their game is at right now.
-Really impressed with the bounce-back effort from Matt Murray in this one. He was put in a tough spot against the Leafs on Thursday night and let in a couple ugly ones. But to his credit, he stepped in front of the media and owned it. That’s exactly the response you want to see from a leader. But just as important as taking ownership is bouncing back. He did exactly that against the Habs on Sunday night. After letting in the first shot of the game, there was that sense of here we go again but Murray shut the door from that point on. When this team gets decent goaltending, they can hang with anyone in the North Division.
-It’s a debate that’s going to rage on until the organization makes a decision. And honestly, they can’t go wrong. When the Ottawa Senators select their next Captain, there will be two excellent options to choose from. The cool, calm and collected Thomas Chabot or the rambunctious, drag you into the fight Brady Tkachuk. Both players will be expected to take on leadership roles with this team going forward but in this anonymous blogger’s opinion, Brady Tkachuk should be the next Captain of the Ottawa Senators. Through the highs and lows, we’ve seen Brady’s leadership qualities on display this season and he’s both talking and acting like a guy who wants to be the leader of this hockey team.
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