Josh’s Take: Senators win in Newfoundland

The first game of the preseason for the Ottawa Senators saw them take to the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Saint-John’s. The short trip ended with a win and some members of the organization being screeched in. That’s as good as it gets for such a short business trip.

The Toronto Maple Leafs showed up with the likes of John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Tyson Barrie, and Frederik Andersen while the Ottawa Senators showed up with, well, a lot less talent than that but still managed to pull out the win and Babcock once again loses to the Ottawa Senators!

When I first looked at the roster the Ottawa Senators were bringing to Saint-John’s and compared it to the Leafs’ roster, I wasn’t expecting much. I would have been happy with the NHL guys on the roster playing well and if they could manage to play solid in the defensive zone. I couldn’t have cared less about the final score, because the score really doesn’t matter in the preseason.

I wrote in yesterday’s preview that I was excited to see what Drake Batherson, Erik Brannstrom, and the other young players, and by all accounts, they performed well considering that this was the first game action in months for many of these players.

There were two players from which I was not really expecting much from, mainly because them already having spots on the roster I didn’t expect them to go all out in the first game action of the season. I thought Anthony Duclair and Anders Nilsson both played very well and had very solid games for the Senators.

I first want to talk about Anthony Duclair. I have loved this player’s potential ever since he first broke into the league with the New York Rangers. His offensive instincts and abilities are definitely among the best on the team, and he should have a spot already carved out for him in the top-6.

Then there is his skating and speed. Behind Formenton, I struggle to think of a player that skates as well as this guy does. All his speed and skill were on display last night. Duclair was easily the team’s best forward as he could have had three goals to himself last night. He was all over the place in the offensive zone, and when I say all over the place I mean it in a good way!

Duclair’s success this season with the Ottawa Senators will rest on two things: how determined and implicated he is going to be, and how the coaching staff is going to handle him. It’s no secret that pretty much every coach Duclair has had in the NHL ended up pretty much giving up on the talented forward because of his play away from the puck and his supposed disinterest in trying to get better when the puck wasn’t on his stick.

Duclair played well after he was traded to the Senators at the deadline last season which helped him garner a one-year contract with the team. It will now be up to DJ Smith and the rest of the coaching staff to try to do what other coaches have not been able to do yet: get Duclair to buy in and not only rely on his skill to get him through games. If they are able to do that, the Senators are going to have a very good player on their hands.

Last night’s effort was definitely a step in the right direction, and I for one am hoping that Duclair is finally able to get everything to click and he can be an offensive producer for the Ottawa Senators this season.

Then there was the play of the goaltender. Anders Nilsson was the keeper of the goal for the first two periods, and he looked to be in midseason form. Acquired last season from the Vancouver Canucks, Nilsson was the better goaltender for the Ottawa Senators while he was here last season and appears to have picked up from where he left off.

Nilsson stopped all 13 shots he faced and was probably the best player on the ice, especially during the second period. The Ottawa Senators took a one-goal lead to the dressing room after the first twenty minutes thanks to a goal from Max Lajoie (a very weak goal for Andersen to allow too), but the Toronto Maple Leafs upped their play in the second period. While the shots were tied after forty minutes of play, Toronto’s skill advantage really started to show in the second period and Anders Nilsson made sure the team would head for the dressing room after two periods still holding on to that one-goal lead.

DJ Smith has said that the goaltenders this season will be used as a tandem, much of like what we saw in Carolina, Boston, and Dallas last season. The fact that Nilsson looked so sharp early on surely has the coach feeling good about his goaltenders this season. The big-bodied goaltender looked smooth and in control last night, using his large frame to take up much of the net and not giving the opposition very much to shoot at. Oh, and sporting that perfect save percentage is pretty good too, especially with only one defenceman in the lineup that already has a spot locked up in Dylan Demelo. What more could you ask for?

I thought the Pageau, Batherson, Duclair line looked excelled. Definitely the best line for the Ottawa Senators last night. They are clearly developing chemistry rapidly, which is very good for DJ Smith and the Ottawa Senators. I was expecting a little more from Alex Formenton, especially regarding his speed and skating. I won’t read too much into that though considering it was the first preseason game. He historically tends to get better as camp progresses.

Finally, I thought Erik Brannstrom played a very solid game. He was good defensively, which is good to see from a player of his size, and stood apart in the offensive zone. He controlled the puck well, especially on the man advantage, and was able to rub players off the puck in the defensive zone. You can easily tell how good of a skater he is, and how much he relies on his skating to defend. Does that remind you of someone? Yeah, I won’t get into that. It’ll just make me sad again! Anyways, moving on. This was a good game for the young defenceman and he has to continue doing that if he wants to make the roster out of camp.

These two teams meet again tonight at the Canadian Tire Centre, but with very different rosters. Fans will get to see Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, Colin White and more in tonight’s game.

Sens fans, waht were your thoughts from the game last night? Which players impressed you the most? Did any disappoint you or leave you wanting more? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!