The Ottawa Senators win in Columbus 5-2. The game against the Columbus Blue Jackets saw many exciting moments. The game saw great goaltending, lots of scoring, and two hits that will most likely result in suspensions.
Game Recap
First Period
The first period of play was certainly action packed. Jared Boll fought Mark Borowiecki at the 3:22 mark. Boll then fought Chris Neil during the 13th minute of action. The period saw a total of five penalties to the Senators and four to the Blue Jackets. Columbus opened the scoring at the 5:19 mark with David Savard scoring off on the Power Play with helpers from Artem Anisimov and Alexander Wennberg. The Jackets lead did not last long as Clarke MacArthur scored a Power Play goal of his own with Erik Karlsson and Bobby Ryan picking up assists. The period saw the Senators being outshot five to fourteen. It was disappointing to see the Senators once again being outshot so heavily. Robin Lehner was going to need to deliver a big performance to get the win and he certainly did. The Senators gave their goalie more support in the second and third period.
Second Period
The Senators took the lead at the 1:44 mark with a Zack Smith goal off an assist from Cody Ceci. At the 8:04 mark a huge penalty was issued to Eric Gryba. Gryba was issued a five minute majour and a game misconduct for elbowing Artem Anisimov. This is the second time Gryba has faced suspension due to a vicious hit. The other instance was when he demolished Lars Eller in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if/how long Gryba will be suspended for. The hit did not appear to be done with the intent to injure. It once again seems to be an instance in which Gryba caught someone too hard with a clean hit. The Senators held the lead until late in the second period. At the 18:57 mark Cam Atkinson scored with assists coming from James Wisniewski and Ryan Johansen. Ottawa did a better job offensively then they did in the first. The shots we’re 13 for Ottawa and 15 for Columbus. The teams entered the third period with the game tied.
Third Period
The Senators took a lead early in the third period. At 3:41 Erik Karlsson knotched his third goal of the year off assists from Kyle Turris and Robin Lehner. Yes! The goalie got an assist. Two minutes later the game saw it’s second misconduct and possible hit leading to suspension. Corey Tropp checked Mark Borowiecki from behind. Who knows what Tropp’s intention was but the hit he delivered was reckless. I doubt Tropp intended to injure Borowiecki, but it is the players responsibility to let up if he is going to decimate someone from behind. The Senators scored at 10:06 via an Alex Chissason goal. with assists from Clarke MacArthur and Mark Stone. The Senators tacked on one more insurance goal at the 11:08 mark. MacArthur got his second goal of the game off a pass from Kyle Turris. The Senators outshot the Jackets 16 to 9 in the third period. The Senators pick up their 5th win of the season.
Senshot Player of the Game
Robin Lehner put up another solid performance. He saved 36 of 38 shots. Lehner had a remarkable first period. Lehner bent and did not break when the Senators we’re outshot 14 to 5 in the first period. The netminder has been able to deliver huge amounts of saves. If Lehner had come out with a suboptimal performance the Senators would most likely have lost this game. It is important to have a lead, remain tied, or to simply not fall behind in games. Robin Lehner delivered another stand out performance.
Notes and Observations
The Senators did a good job on the Power Play. They went 2/4 while also delivering an impressive performance killing penalties. The Senators killed off five of six penalties. It is unfortunate to see the hits delivered to Anisimov and Borowiecki. The intent of Tropp and Gryba are not known. It is truly impossible to know if they meant to hurt the people they hit. Hockey is such a fast game. Gryba’s hit appeared to be the more innocent of the two. In my opinion Gryba will most likely be suspended for what was a clean hit. Tropp’s hit showed a higher degree of recklessness. You can not barrel into someone from behind when they are up near the boards. Overall it was nice to see the Senators deliver more offense. MacArthur finished with three points, while Karlsson and Turris both had two.
Up Next…
The Senators host the Chicago Blackhawks. The game is Thursday, October 30th at 7:30 PM.
Stats provided by NHL.com