FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Well that was unexpected. Sure we know the Ottawa Senators are capable of efforts like the one we saw last night but this season has given us the impression that those efforts are saved for specific teams. And up until last night, the Winnipeg Jets were not one of those teams. This game had the potential to go off the rails early with the Jets jumping out to a 2-0 lead and the officials seemingly hell bent on handing Winnipeg a victory. But the Senators stuck with it. Certainly not a dominating performance by any stretch but a good team effort against a Jets team that has been one of the hottest in the North Division.
-As is so often the case, it was Brady Tkachuk leading the way for the Senators. Goals have been sort of hard to come by for Brady the last little while (he had just one in 11 games coming into the game) but with the way Brady plays, it’s only a matter of time before a puck bounces in off him. And that’s exactly what happened on the games first goal. What’s really impressive about Tkachuk is even when pucks aren’t going in, you get the same effort every night. He’s always finding ways to lead his team and to have an impact on the game. He doesn’t have that letter on his jersey just yet but watching the Senators on a regular basis, it’s painfully clear that he is this team’s Captain. When the time comes, and it won’t be long now, Brady Tkachuk is the type of player that can win a playoff series on his own.
-With three defenceman shipped out just before and on Trade Deadline day, the Senators blueline had a different look last night. Not only was Erik Brannstrom forced into a bigger role but they also had the equally tiny and equally mobile Victor Mete back there. It was a big change for a D core that has frequently featured big and/or strong guys in key roles this season. It was hard not to notice the difference in speed and fluidity in the team’s transition game. When you have a puck-mover on each pairing, the puck has a tendency to leave your zone a whole lot quicker. And while you lose some of that “edge” in front of the net, it doesn’t matter much if you can avoid spending too much time there. Having puck moves also leads to better scoring chances too, as evidenced by the endless stream of breakaways the Senators had last night. And while the puck moves helped, it’s worth pointing out that one of the remaining big/strong defenceman also had an impact on the game. Josh Brown’s first period fight really seemed to wake up the Senators.
-Running out of words to describe just how good Connor Brown has been lately. And actually, all year. Obviously the eight-game goal scoring streak is the stuff of legends but the fact is, Brown has been creating chances all season. It’s just that now they’re finally starting to go in for him. He’s such a smart player and if you watch him closely over the course of a game, he never takes shortcuts. Plays the game the right way, as a coach would say. With goals in eight consecutive games, Brown extended his franchise record and became just the 87th player in the history of the NHL to register a streak that long. No other active player has a streak that long and nobody has done it since Mike Green back in 2008/2009.
-With the dust now settled on the trade deadline, the “plan” put in place by Pierre Dorion and DJ Smith is now clearer than ever. And while there were some rough nights along the way and plenty of angst over micro-level decisions, the Senators came into this year with a clear idea of how they wanted things to play out. And they stuck to it. Now with many of the placeholders either traded, injured or gracefully phased out, the reins are officially being turned over to the team’s young players. It has been happening gradually over the course of this weird season but from now until the end of the year, opportunity will be there for not only the core of young players to lead but also for the second wave to fight for their spots in next year’s lineup. Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, Tim Stützle, Colin White and Artem Zub have all proved they belong. Erik Brannstrom and Alex Formenton are knocking on the door, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Shane Pinto are about to get their chance and Jake Sanderson and Ridly Greig are waiting in the wings. There are more guys in Belleville- Vitaly Abramov, Egor Sokolov and Angus Crookshank- all waiting for an opportunity. Oh and they’ll add another high pick this summer. There was a time in this rebuild where you had to squint a little bit to see the finished product. Not anymore. It’s happening. And soon.
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