It was great to watch Brian Elliott last night, making no mistakes, and performing solid, sometimes spectacular saves. His positioning was great last night and his cross-crease reaction something to behold, close to being on a par with injured goalie Pascal Leclaire. It's hard to pick a best moment, there were so many. He made a superb save on Scott Hartnell on a breakaway, he stumped Matt Carle on the "no-goal" call, his quick return to the cage to block Laperriere's shot from the point, his sutting out of Brière's two attempts at wrap-arounds, Elliott was enerything the Sens were hoping he could become.



I've noticed a few improvements in his tending. He plays more forward, as coach Cory Clouston has asked him to do. He leads his cross-crease moves with his stick blade flared out to his right, blocking the bottom part of the net much earlier. He was also perfect last night in covering the bottom part of the net whenever he had to sprawl down on the ice, both pads reaching out to the posts.

Elliott hasn't benefitted from great defense in his zone. Last night's defense by the Sens was improved, but not as good as the Flyers'. The 23 shots faced by Elliott may not sound like much, but a goodly amount of those shots were great scoring opportunities, and he stood tall.

More than anything, this shut-out may be a boost to Elliott's confidence, and help him plow through the schedule until Leclaire's return. One or two more games like this may give much more confidence to the teammates in front of him, and allow the offensive a little more room to attack, knowing a solid goalie is behind them. Heck, if he plays solidly enough, Ottawa could wind up with the enviable position of having two great goalies to call upon at anytime... hopefully without the acrimony of fighting to see who's number 1.