FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS
-Aside from a frantic five minutes, this was a pretty textbook road opener for the Ottawa Senators. They took the crowd out of the game early on and until a portion of the third period, really controlled the game. Obviously you would like to see a little more offence generated but the neutral and defensive zone play was quite strong. Not really sure how good this Sabres team is going to be this year but the Sens did a pretty good job of limiting their chances.
-The top line of Hoffman-Turris-Stone was everything we expected and more. They got on the board 30 seconds in and were by far Ottawa’s best line over sixty minutes. Having that top line loaded up certainly leaves the remaining three lines a little light but at this point in the season, it’s tough not to stick with a trio that is clearly clicking. I think they might be called “The HST” line now, by the way.
-It’s early in the season and you can tell that Dave Cameron wants to sort of ease some guys into things. Injuries are so common this time of year so as much as possible, you want to avoid pushing guys harder than you have to. Marc Methot led the Senators in ice time with 23:55 and Erik Karlsson was well below his usual playing time, finishing the night with just 22:57. Of course the fact that the Sabres managed to play a completely penalty free hockey game may have something to do with the lower total for Karlsson. Chris Neil played the least of any Ottawa skater (8:01).
-Give Senators Assistant Coach Jason Smith a ton of credit for being on the ball and noticing that second Sabres goal was indeed offside. Recognizing that opportunity to challenge is why Ottawa walks away with two points. I know I had completely forgotten that the Coach’s Challenge was a thing now but I’m certainly glad Jason and the rest of the Coaching Staff remembered. I’ll admit I sort of tuned out the discussion about this rule change during the offseason but this is clearly going to be a game changer in the NHL. Good on the league for making this change.
-Plenty of talk about Robin Lehner heading into this one and it’s safe to say that game went as poorly as it possibly could have for the former Senator. He gave up that early goal and then left the game about mid-way through with what looked like a foot or ankle injury. Lehner may play for another team now but you never want to see anyone get hurt and it’s especially difficult watching it happen to a guy like Lehner because you know how badly he wants to succeed in Buffalo. It certainly didn’t sound good after the game but wishing Robin Lehner a speedy recovery.
