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Literally one day ago, I wrote about how the most unfamiliar of faces -
third-round pick and relative unknown Zack Smith - was playing the role of game-changer for an Ottawa Senators team in dire need of another on-ice leader.
On Tuesday night, Zack Smith beat Ondrej Pavelec twice, killed off some crucial penalties, played his usual physical game, and as a whole w the best skater on the ice, all en route to an exciting 6-4 road victory for the Ottawa Senators.
Sure, it wasn't pretty in the slightest - the Jets were the more dominant team for the majority of the night, and only Craig Anderson's force field in the first period kept this game within striking distance early on.
Ottawa's six goals came from four scorers, including the aforementioned Smith. Milan Michalek opened the scoring for Ottawa in the first, then added another late in the second for his fourteenth(!) of the season. Jason Spezza scored the most crucial goal of the night down a goal late, and Mike Foligno - check that, it's Nick Foligno, TSN - hit the empty netter to ice it.
Worth noting - Erik Karlsson(
naturally) added another assist on Jason Spezza's rip in the third period, and boy was it a beauty. He's leading the league in that category.
Winnipeg did provide Ottawa with plenty of competition, though, and probably deserved a better fate than a regulation loss. An unlucky run of it in the first period didn't help matters, but the team did make the most of Craig Anderson and the blue line's struggles later on in the game, with goals coming from Blake Wheeler, Alex Burmistrov, and Evander Kane(x2).
Although the tempo and style of play was enthralling in front of a wild MTS Centre, I thought the officiating as a whole was as bad as its been all season long. The only positive thing I can say about it? Well, it was equally abhorrent. As someone mentioned on Twitter, if I'm Kevin Cheveldayoff and Bryan Murray, I'm handing this tape over to the league office in a hurry.
Another issue with this game: Ottawa took a number of injuries, which won't bode well for the immediate future. Nikita Filatov snapped his beak into three places early in the game and didn't return. Filip Kuba smashed his head into the boards and was immediately sent off with what's being described as an upper body injury. And, although Kaspars Daugavins skated the entire night, he was visibly in pain from a shot that rattled off of his body.
The team's been fairly lucky on the health front, at least relative to other years. It'd be a really poor outcome if this club - already lacking depth - loses some key players in the short and/or long-term.
Overall, a big win for an Ottawa team that's certainly finding its identity under Paul MacLean. No one could've envisioned a 12-10-2 start for a team everyone wrote off in the off-season, and right now, they're neck-and-neck with the likes of Buffalo, Washington, Tampa Bay, and Montreal in the Eastern Conference.
Enjoy the win. Back with more tomorrow.
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