Alright already, we know you're the best...
The Senators stand at the top of the NHL in killing penalties at 89.1%, we get that. The Senators also lead the league in short-handed goals with four, we also get that. So there's no need to display the prowess of the PK by taking seven penalties to the Florida Panthers single one. That's handing the opposition way too many opportunities. The sad fact is that the Sens were outraced to most pucks and were nearly outflanked in the offensive zone a few times which resulted in hooking and grabbing and seven trips to the timeout chair.
I'm not sure what it was, maybe it was the long absence from the road, but the Senators, while pushing hard offensively, lacked a certain finesse defensively. Elliott looked nervous as hell, lost track of the puck a few times and had terrible rebound control, coughing up pucks in the slot. In the end, it was a win, but it could have been much different.
Upside
To be fair, there's not much that Leclaire, then Elliott could do on the Florida goals. They were either totally screened , or the puck took a bounce off a skate or a player. I did mention Elliott's crappy rebound control, but I don't think it had anything to do with the Panthers' second goal. I watched the replay over and over, and I don't think the puck even got to him, but bounced off Olesz and plunked right in front of Weiss who had a wide open cage to shoot at.
Superb effort by the Alfie-Kovalev-Fisher line who had the Panthers running around in circles in the 3rd period. Kovalev and Alfie displayed what puck handling is all about, sometimes tying up as many as three Panthers at once. They deserved to get more results on the scoresheet than they did. Alfie continues to impress the hell out of me. As the senior captain in the NHL, he's showing the young ones how it's done.
And welcome back Filip Kuba. Although a tad rusty, Kuba was good for two points for the night. Shean Donovan also made his presence felt, although there was a bit of rust there too. He did in a good tussle, something Ryan Shannon doesn't do.And finally, kudos to Jarkko Ruutu for a great overall game.
On to Tampa Bay for a rematch with the Lightning. I'm sure the Bolts will be gunning for revenge after the 7-1 thrashing they were handed by the Sens two weeks ago.
I'm not sure what it was, maybe it was the long absence from the road, but the Senators, while pushing hard offensively, lacked a certain finesse defensively. Elliott looked nervous as hell, lost track of the puck a few times and had terrible rebound control, coughing up pucks in the slot. In the end, it was a win, but it could have been much different.
Upside
To be fair, there's not much that Leclaire, then Elliott could do on the Florida goals. They were either totally screened , or the puck took a bounce off a skate or a player. I did mention Elliott's crappy rebound control, but I don't think it had anything to do with the Panthers' second goal. I watched the replay over and over, and I don't think the puck even got to him, but bounced off Olesz and plunked right in front of Weiss who had a wide open cage to shoot at.
Superb effort by the Alfie-Kovalev-Fisher line who had the Panthers running around in circles in the 3rd period. Kovalev and Alfie displayed what puck handling is all about, sometimes tying up as many as three Panthers at once. They deserved to get more results on the scoresheet than they did. Alfie continues to impress the hell out of me. As the senior captain in the NHL, he's showing the young ones how it's done.
And welcome back Filip Kuba. Although a tad rusty, Kuba was good for two points for the night. Shean Donovan also made his presence felt, although there was a bit of rust there too. He did in a good tussle, something Ryan Shannon doesn't do.And finally, kudos to Jarkko Ruutu for a great overall game.
On to Tampa Bay for a rematch with the Lightning. I'm sure the Bolts will be gunning for revenge after the 7-1 thrashing they were handed by the Sens two weeks ago.
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