The bizarre early season schedule continues for the Senators as they enjoy another two day break ahead of the back to back that faces them this weekend.
Ottawa was able to snag a point at the Staples Center last night and will be looking for two when they face the Sharks on Saturday night. San Jose has been downright frightening in the early going this season and seem like they’ll be one the league’s elite teams. And as good as their team has been on the ice, they’ve also been dominating headlines off the ice with 19 year old sensation Tomas Hertl’s ridiculous start to the season and the equally ridiculous remarksmade by Joe Thornton about the kid’s four goal outing.
San Jose makes a stop in Vancouver to take on the Canucks later tonight if you’re looking to do a little advanced scouting. Meanwhile, the Senators will be looking to build off some of the positives in Wednesday’s overtime loss.
Lack of discipline and a struggling penalty kill put Ottawa in an early hole against a powerful Los Angeles team. At 5 on 5 the Senators were competitive but mistakes in the form of penalties and a sloppy PK killed them early. But to their credit, the Sens did not quit after an ugly opening 20 minutes. First it was the trio of Erik Condra, Matt Kassian and Jean Gabriel Pageau doing some diligent work on the fore check, leading to JGP’s first of the season.
Then in the third, the Sens cashed in on a power play of their own, as Bobby Ryan silenced the local media, ripping a shot that beat Jonathan Quick high on the glove side. Ottawa didn’t stop there either, as a nifty bit of stick work by Joe Corvo kept the play alive at the LA blueline and ultimately led to Milan Michalek beating Quick to tie the game at 3-3.
Another Kings power play goal would end the game just moments into an extra frame. A disappointing ending but considering they were down three against one of the best teams in the league; the single point will seem like a victory.
No practice for the Senators today but they did hold an off ice workout in San Jose. Back on the ice tomorrow ahead of Saturday’s game in San Jose.
- -Over on Hockeybuzz, Travis Yost is talking about some impending changes coming to the Ottawa Senators front office. No names included in that post but fans of this team could probably guess at where the issue areas might be right now. The organization has not been thrilled with ticket sales, as apparently thousands of tickets remain for the home opener and season ticket sales are falling short of where they should be. Will be an interesting story to follow.
