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By now, last night's exhibition between the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins has been covered almost exhaustively.
With both teams playing their regulars the entire night - only Erik Karlsson, Tyler Seguin, and Dennis Seidenberg were sidelined - the Ottawa Senators withstood an absolute storm for forty minutes, then turned the tables on the defending champions.
Even though the Ottawa Senators were out-shot by a 2 to 1 margin(40/20), they managed to keep the Bruins at bay and gain real momentum in the third period. The Ottawa Senators might have been devoid of talent against Boston at every position on the ice, but they worked their tails off all night. And, when Boston began to look frustrated, the Senators rapidly gained confidence, scoring a pair of goals courtesy of Daniel Alfredsson and David Rundblad in the third to beat Boston at TD Garden.
An improbable win? Absolutely. But, that's the nature of the game with Craig Anderson. He's a goalie who thrives off of high shot totals against; in fact, that's been his modus operandi for years now in the NHL.
Unfortunately, getting dominated like that in long spurts isn't always going to yield positive results. Go ahead and chalk this one up as a slight statistical aberration. On most nights, the Senators drop this game with ease.
Still, there are plenty of positives to be found. While Boston did have a huge advantage in the shots department, plenty of them came from the outside, and Anderson did a great job of taking away second-chance opportunities. Even the defense played a cleaner game in front, although turnovers remain an issue.
Although it's still an exhibition, I think we learned more about this team on Thursday than any other day in camp. What they lack in talent, they make up in drive. What they lack in fluidity, they make up for with sheer aggression and speed. And, what they lack in experience, they make up for in hunger.
Can't say it's not beautiful to have a goalie that can steal games, too. That's been a long time coming for an Ottawa Senators franchise that's seemingly went through every plug goaltender in the National Hockey League. Craig Anderson continues to shine for this team, and I'd be absolutely floored if this guy wasn't one of the better netminders in the league this season.
The thing is, it's a perfect situation for Anderson. He doesn't like to stagnate in net. And, lord knows he'll be tested early and often this season, because the Senators just don't have the horses to possess the puck for extended periods of time.
On the other hand, those kind of slanted numbers can't be encouraged by Paul MacLean and the coaching staff. What I (and most of us) saw last night was complete domination by the Boston Bruins, but a feisty and resilient Ottawa Senators team standing in there and taking punch after punch.
I'd equate it to Rocky IV. You know, when Drago is absolutely pounding Balboa with haymaker after haymaker. On most nights, Balboa's buried next to his buddy Apollo Creed. But, from time to time, you'll see an improbable victory much like the one we witnessed on Thursday.
I'm not going to drive this take into the ground, but I did like what I saw from a number of players past Craig Anderson - Mika Zibanejad, Jared Cowen, and Colin Greening in particular.
You couldn't ask for better goal scorers, either. Both Daniel Alfredsson and David Rundblad needed to get on the board in the worst way. Said Rundblad after the game:
"It feels like I'm getting better and better every game I get to play."
Ottawa's exhibition schedule is officially done, ending the run with a 3-3-1 record.
A week from today, I'll be writing the first regular season gameday blog, as the Ottawa Senators head into Hockeytown to take on the Detroit Red Wings.
Hey, schedule makers, thanks for the break.
End sarcasm here.
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