Two days after dominating the Canes, Senators get blown out by them.
Two days after the Senators had one of their best performances of the season in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Hurricanes enacted their revenge in a dominating win over the Senators.
The Ottawa Senators took to the ice at the Canadian Tire Centre this past Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes in what looked like the best game the Senators played all season. The unfortunate reality for fans of the Senators is that the game probably was their best effort all season, but that is not what people remember following an utter collapse against those same Hurricanes just two days later.
The Senators got utterly dismantled by the Canes with a final score of 8-2. Both Anders Nilsson and Craig Anderson, who both got into the game, are equally to blame with each allowing four goals.
With that being said, while it may seem that all the momentum the team had built up from going on a nice little hot streak of playing solid hockey is lost, that is far from the truth.
More from SenShot
- Crunch. Crush. Grind. Mash. The Tyler Kleven Story
- Belleville Senators: What To Expect In 2023-24
- Daniel Alfredsson and Marian Hossa Hit The Ice One Final Time
- Ottawa Senators: Something’s Got to Give
- Hot Pierre Summer 2.0? Let’s Talk About The Ottawa Senators Offseason So Far!
The entire team is playing much better than what pundits expected in their pre-season predictions, and it is looking like the rebuild may almost be over after all. Long-time Senator Jean-Gabriel Pageau is having a wonderful start to the season with eight goals and four assists in 17 games. In fact, he just matched his total from last season when he played 39 games!
This is bringing back memories for fans of the Sens from 2017 when Pageau lit up the Rangers with four goals in one game during the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
There have been quite a few surprises so far this year. For one, the play of Anders Nilsson, who was named first star in the NHL last week. Nilsson seems to have become more of a starting goaltender for DJ Smith and the Senators. The Swedish netminder has played nine games so far this season and is sporting a save percentage of .921.
Do you love the Ottawa Senators enough to write about them? Are you looking to get more involved in the Ottawa Senators community this season? Have you ever thought about blogging about hockey? SenShot is looking to add more dedicated contributors to our team! Apply today!
The emergence of Connor Brown as a reliable offensive weapon for the Sens is also a pleasant surprise. Connor Brown finds himself at the top of the stats page tied with Pageau for Senators lead. Brown has 12 points in 17 games this season.
Two other acquisitions made by the club last summer in free agency have been a nice presence for fans of the team. Both Tyler Ennis and Ron Hainsey have both been solid pickups for Pierre Dorion and DJ Smith. Both players have been reliable and responsible and have been playing some good, hard hockey of late.
There has been one very unfortunate downside early on this season. That has to be the disappointing play of Craig Anderson. The longtime number one goaltender has been showing clear signs of his age, dating back to last year. Fellow SenShot writer Joshua Delorme listed the 38-year-old goalie in his recent ‘Three Disappointing Players’.
Related Story. Three Senators who need to be better. light
I think the aging goaltender should be shipped off to a contending team in need of a reliable backup. Could he be to a team what Jaroslav Halak is to the Boston Bruins? Maybe.