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A strong effort against the New York Rangers yielded the same result many Senators fans are becoming accustomed to - a plus one in the "L" column. While the results weren't there, many are optimistic that the Senators have found at least some form of rhythm and will be able to, at the very least, play more competitively over the next few months. And, what better team to employ some newfound (albeit small) momentum than against the lowly New Jersey Devils?
Thursday night's game was probably one of the best the team has played all year. Brian Elliott and Chris Neil aside, the Senators not only win on Thursday night, but play the part of the team that was expected to finish around the 6-8 seed in the Eastern Conference. Sure, the team scored three goals, but the scoring opportunities in general were up in a big way. The bad decision making and turnovers were still there, but as many Senators fans have correctly opined before, that's something that we'll all have to live with thanks to the current assembly of the roster.
What really did the Senators in last night was some porous goaltending by Brian Elliott. He didn't make any big saves, and let in a couple of extremely soft goals, rendering the Scotiabank faithful speechless. For a goalie who has played well all year, it was a tough pill to swallow, and he'll now get to watch as Pascal Leclaire takes over the reigns for the time being.
Leclaire's expected to start against New Jersey, and assuming he plays well, could resume command of the starting job for the time being. Clouston's been playing goalies in a manner that would suggest one ugly performance could put a goalie on the shelf for a bit, and considering how punchless the New Jersey Devils offense is, Leclaire's got a real good shot to distance himself from his counterpart.
Ottawa's offense has been much a disgrace for the past month, but there's been one team to not only rival their lowly numbers, but top it - the New Jersey Devils. Through 27 games, the New Jersey Devils are averaging 1.78 GPG, but it goes far beyond that. Their man advantage is as excruciatingly bad as their even strength play, and you can tell that this team is in dire straits thanks to the loss of Zach Parise. Star forward Ilya Kovalchuk has only logged eleven points this season (5G/6A), and is clocking in at a painful -17.
Big moment tonight also with the return of Anton Volchenkov to Ottawa, the first time he's donned another team's sweater inside of Scotiabank Place. Fully expect he's serenaded with cheers during the pre-game, as he was a longtime staple of the Sens defense since being selected in the 2000 NHL Draft.
However, the real storyline is the growing feud between Alex Kovalev and Cory Clouston, which erupted last night after Kovalev voiced his displeasure with limited ice time. Kovalev alleged that he was becoming a scapegoat for Ottawa's struggles and didn't really understand why he was demoted. Clouston responded, at least implicitly, that Kovalev's demotion was due to a lack of effort and fight. He noted that while everyone has a bad game here and there, he expects full effort on a nightly basis, which was obviously a subtle jab at AK27. We'll see how this develops.
As for my personal take on the matter, both are right in some aspects and wrong in others. Yes, Alex Kovalev is absolutely becoming the scapegoat for this team, which is entirely laughable considering how bad guys like Daniel Alfredsson, Nick Foligno, Milan Michalek, Chris Phillips, and Filip Kuba have been recently. However, Clouston's also right when substantiating his demotion for Kovalev by questioning AK's effort. Even the most casual hockey fan knows Kovalev doesn't bust it on both ends of the ice.
Marty Brodeur also makes his return to the lineup tonight after missing a string of games due to an elbow injury. Brodeur's been a shell of his former self this season, and although this statement would've only been accurate in a parallel universe a few years ago, the Senators may have caught a break, as Hedberg's actually been slightly better on the year.
Puck drops at 7:30 EST on MSG+ and RSNE.
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