Mike Hoffman opened the scoring in the second period, and Bobby Ryan sealed it with an empty netter but it was Craig Anderson who stole the night in a 2-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers. The Ottawa Senators net-minder stopped 37 shots in a outstanding shutout performance, in what was an emotional night.
Penalty persistence
Penalties continue to be the Senators Achilles heel. Although they were unscathed in the first period, spending 6:00 of a possible 20:00 minutes down a man, is not advisory. One of the supposed upsides of hiring a fiery coach like Guy Boucher was that he would instill some self-control into the Senators. This season they are averaging 10.71 penalty minutes per-game (9th most in the league. Last season that number was 10.88 (7th most), the season before 10.26 (9th most). Boucher needs to make sure his message of discipline is being heard.
Craig Anderson is not human
There are certain things that I will never understand, things I don’t want to understand. One of those things is just how Craig Anderson was able to play, at the outstanding level he did against Edmonton, with all that is going on in his life. I’ve seen people call it a welcome distraction from his reality, a continuation of regular life, as if to bring some sense of normalcy, but I don’t buy it. This is a man going through what I can only imagine to be a horrific and excruciating time in his life. That he played as well as he did is, frankly, unbelievable.
Mike Hoffman, how do you do?
Well, hi there Mike. Welcome to the 2016-17 goalscorer’s club, we’ve missed you. Seriously though, Mike Hoffman has finally found his way to the score sheet and it’s not for lack of trying. Coming into this game Hoffman had 26 shots on goal through seven games, and was averaging 3.71 shots a game. And those are just the attempts that hit the target. Hoffman came into the game with 49 attempts, or 24.99 iCF/60 (individual corsi for per 60 minutes). The only forward better: Alexander Ovechkin with 25.22iCF/60.
Dion Phaneuf and Chris Wideman
In the second frame head Boucher shuffled his defence, trotting out Chris Wideman with Dion Phaneuf and Cody Ceci with Mark Boroweicki. It’s a change I welcome, and fear at the same time. Together Ceci and Phaneuf have been one of the worst pairings in the league, and I’m not sure that falls entirely at the feet of Dion Phaneuf. Phaneuf is not the fleetest of foot, and doesn’t do well in situations where he is forced to handle things on his own. Ceci, while quick, is often out position and quick to join a potential rush, and thus leaves Phaneuf stranded.
I’m curious given ample time together whether Wideman and Phaneuf can be a useable duo. The problem with this is, of course, the third pairing is Ceci-Boroweicki, which is at best a disappointment, and at worst a tire fire. If Phaneuf-Wideman does work, it could be reason enough to give Thomas Chabot a chance so that Boucher can cycle options for the third pairing.
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