Playing their third game in four nights against one of the NHL's best teams, this seemed like a recipe for a let down game. Instead the Sens stuck to the game plan and were able to control the Capitals offensive attack. Of course this game could have been out of hand if not for the man between the pipes for the home side.
Craig Anderson continued to play lights out for the Senators, making a number of highlight reel stops including diving saves on Brooks Laich and Alex Semin. He is in a zone right now is making the game look so easy. Tonight was his second shutout in an Ottawa uniform.
The Sens broke the ice on Colin Greening's fourth of the season. The goal was reviewed for nearly five minutes but there was no replay that provided conclusive evidence that would allow officials to overturn the call on the ice. Jason Spezza took over the team scoring lead on the play.
Erik Condra beat Varlamov low along the ice early in the third and gave the Sens a 2-0 lead. That was more than enough for Anderson on this night.
With the win, the Sens are now just one point back of the Panthers for 27th.
Close tonight with a quick AHL update. It has been an up and down year for Sens prospect Robin Lehner but tonight he posted his third pro shutout in a 31 save performance for Binghamton in what was a big win for the Sens minor league affiliate.
Here is how the bottom five look after tonight's action.
| NY Islanders | 75 | 29 | 34 | 12 | 70 | ||||||||||
| Florida | 75 | 29 | 36 | 10 | 68 | ||||||||||
| Ottawa | 75 | 29 | 37 | 9 | 67 | ||||||||||
| Colorado | 73 | 28 | 37 | 8 | 64 | ||||||||||
| Edmonton | 74 | 23 | 41 | 10 | 56 |
What you are describing is called "Pulling a Leafs".
This was a good game to watch.
Good fight (the second one). Good shitty goals. And amazing goaltending, on both ends, really.
@chirp- Any chance of maybe getting the live game blog you had going on your old website on the new one? I really enjoyed that feature.
But also important is winning for this young team. Gives them some confidence for next season. Great game tonight... and Kuba played well himself.
Bingo won 3-0 over Wilkes-Barre - Lehner with the shutout.
You also have to feel bad for Leclaire. I can't believe the injuries this guy has had the past 2 seasons. Some of them were just bad luck...but maybe now the past can be put behind him and some team somewhere will sign him.
He is not the player Ottawa wants imo and my ear has been close to the ground. Even so, it is just an opinion but I believe Sens will be happy with either Strome or Huberdeau.
Landeskog with 3 points, 2 goals and a +3 in their loss tonight.
I love it when they win and I don`t mind terribly if they lose.
I'm optimistic that if the team can keep playing with heart and dedication like they are now that this can be a quick rebuild for the sens. Getting NHL calibre goaltending surely helps too!
pretty sure they`d be more comfortable with Anderson as a safety net replacement for Howard.
The only silver lining is the play of Strome. Ottawa is a lock at this point to finish no better than 5th last in the NHL. One of Larsson, Couturier, RNH, Landeskog, or Strome is going to be our prize. Scouts can only guess which one of those guys will turn out the best and I think Sens fans should be happy getting any of them.
Something of note tonight in his first playoff game this year Landeskog put up 2 goals and 1 assist and was a +3. Talk about a dominant performance. This guy truly looks to be the character guy who knows how to raise his game when it matters most. If we stay bottom 3 we have a shot at him but we probably are going to be 5th at this rate.
That said, I doubt Ottawa will fall out of the bottom 5. They have to make up 4 points on the Islanders to move into the 5 slot, and after that, they would need to make up 7 points on NJ or 8 on ATL to move into 6 or 7. There's only 7 games left. The reality is that this team is going to be picking in the top 5.
I say so what if it isn't Landeskog or Nugent-Hopkins. There's still Couturier, Strome, Huberdeau, Tyler Biggs, Baertschi. Regardless of who that pick ends up as, it's automatically the best forward prospect in the Senators system, so just let it happen. Don't forget that they might be able to add a guy like Puempel or Jurco with that NSH pick.
Either way, this will be arguably the strongest draft the Senators will have ever had.
In my opinion, this guy has become the most reliable defensive d-man on the entire team. The turnaround in his play is astounding. In my opinion, he's an absolute lock at this point to be a top 4 d-man on this team for next year, and if he continues to improve, probably for a long time.
He's definitely paid his dues, and now it looks like he's coming in to his own.
So good for him. We were all so quick to write the guy off, especially since Marc Staal was left on the board when he was picked, but Brian Lee might end up being a solid NHL'er for a decade or so, and that's great news.
The sens haven't really changed in these 'low pressure' games. They're still hardly getting any offence. The difference is they're now winning games when scoring only 1 - 2 goals.
If Anderson doesn't play like this next year, we're in trouble...
This isn't really a fair statement. It would be accurate if the Senators were entering next season with the exact same team they have now.
However, Murray has already stated that he's going to pursue a top-line winger to play with Spezza, everyone expects Rundblad and Cowen to make the team, and there's always the possibility that this year's 1st rounder might play as well.
Next year = different team. No reason to think they won't be able to score more.
So then why aren't Edmonton, NYI, colorado, and Florida winning? I don't think you can use one (Leafs) example to prove your theory. I believe these wins are the result of goaltending giving defenders confidence, Philips regaining form after the security of the contract and relishing working in tandem with a good goalie, Lee coming to form, Shannon getting a chance to actually show his stuff, Spezza embracing his responsibility and flourishing with it, the absence of three players that were dragging and slowing the team down either due to injury or not giving a shit or too much sex (Alfie, Kovy, Fish), and these players being replaced with pure energy (Butler, Condra, Greening). Did I miss anything?
Ottawa needs to get off the "Charlie Sheen". The only winning i want to see from them is in lottery position.