What a night for hockey in Ottawa! Between Bobby Ryan scoring a hat trick in his return to the Canadian Tire Centre and the Senators raising money for their foundation via the annual telethon, it was a truly special evening. As a result, the home team capitalized on all the positive energy and earned itself a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Here are Thursday’s thumbs: Thumbs Up: Bobby Ryan, Bobby Ryan, Bobby Ryan Bobby Ryan’s return from the Player Assistance Program has been one of the best stories in the sport over the course of the last week or so. His openness and the honesty with which he discussed his personal journey were so unbelievably refreshing. He’s bringing attention to the very human side of hockey, and is doing so in a way that makes nearly everyone want to support him. That support was certainly felt on Thursday night.
When he scored his first goal in his return to the Canadian Tire Centre, it was special. When he scored a second, it was pretty cool. When he capped the hat trick with an empty net marker in the third period, though? It was downright emotional. The “BOBBY! BOBBY! BOBBY!… chants ringing through the building all night long were enough to give even casual viewers goose bumps. The player himself struggled to contain the emotion:
Bobby Ryan fighting back tears on the bench after recording a hat trick in his return to Ottawa and receiving a massive ovation from the fans pic.twitter.com/lpVpDSh7J1
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) February 28, 2020
Thumbs Down: The Vancouver Canucks It’s a shame that the Canucks felt that they were good enough to push their chips all-in this year. Players like Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes have them on the right track, but it’s hard to say that the true competitive window for that group is open right now.
Thumbs Up: Marcus Hogberg Hogberg stopped 32 of 34 shots fired his way, allowing only two goals compared to more than three expected goals per Natural Stat Trick. He was excellent. The work he’s done since Anders Nilsson went down with injury has to give the organization a lot of confidence about the future in the crease.
Thumbs Up: Brown, Balcers, and Tierney Rudolfs Balcers played what can only be described as one of his best games of the season on Thursday, and was rewarded with his first goal of the campaign. He and linemates Connor Brown and Chris Tierney dominated the Canucks throughout the match. They created offensive chances, they protected their own end of the ice, and they teamed up to contribute on the scoreboard. The Balcers goal was a true culmination of effort from all three players. The trio combined for six points on the evening, led by Tierney’s three assists.
With J-G Pageau out of the picture, there should be a real opportunity for a player like Tierney to step up. If Thursday’s game is any indication, he’s ready for that added responsibility. Thumbs Up: J-G Pageau's Start in New York Make it two goals in two games for Pageau since joining the New York Islanders. Cheering for this particular player to do well is an easy thing to do.
Thumbs Down: The Out-of-Town Scoreboard New Jersey had a 2-0 lead over the San Jose Sharks, but blew it and lost 3-2 in overtime. That one hurts.
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The Senators are set to close out the month of February with a matchup against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
As always, thanks for reading.