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The Ottawa Senators won a game, yes let me repeat that, the Ottawa Senators won a game and they did it without numerous players due to injuries and covid protocol! The Sens scored four unanswered goals in the second period, a period that has been their nemesis for the last two seasons but after Ottawa scored one, it seemed to really lift a huge bear off their back. But this 6-3 win over Pittsburgh didn't come easy as the Sens managed to let the Pens back into this game late in the third period as Pittsburgh scored three goals in a little over minutes to make things very interesting. DJ Smith called a timeout to settle things down for this young team, which was one of the better moves he's made as a coach this year. The Sens sealed it with an empty netter and the sigh of relief by not only the players but the fans in attendance could be heard all the way to Montreal. The win didn't come without injury though as Shane Pinto left the game early in this one and it quite possibly could be season-ending as it didn't look as he left the ice. The return of Pinto tonight definitely was a huge lift for this team as they are so thin down middle, so now Ottawa has to hope a few players come out of covid protocol next week to help out this young forward group.
The Sens defense stood tall again tonight as this time, it was Jacob Benard-Docker's turn to play his game of this season for Ottawa. He was solid in limited minutes on the right side, so let's hope DJ Smith gives him more minutes tomorrow night as it will take a total team effort on the blueline playing back-to-back nights. Not to mention, Lassi Thomson will be playing his 4th game in 5 nights against Calgary as he played Wednesday in Laval for the B-Sens. DJ will need to balance out TOI for the blueline. It was nice to see Chabot only play 25 minutes and he looked far fresher as the game wore on. The entire blueline played some of their best hockey and contributed offensively as well, with MDZ getting his goal as an Ottawa Senator. Dillon Heatherington has been a nice surprise in his two games too. When looking at the right side of this blueline, Zub-Thomson-JBD, it's by far the best it's looked all season long. Now let's see if DJ Smith actually leaves it intact and lets the youth grow here in Ottawa, instead of playing the dead weight that has pulled down this Sens team for the first part of the season. When you see the numbers that Jake Sanderson is putting up at North Dakota in the NCAA, you can't help but feel excited. Sanderson had a 6 point weekend and is 2nd scoring in his conference as a defenseman.
Offensively, Tim Stutzle finally found the back of the net scoring his first of the season and Drake Batherson had a four point night to continue leading the Sens in scoring this season. The Sens PP scored two while outhitting the Pens 30-16 and finally winning the faceoff battle. Couple that with another outstanding performance by Filip Gustavsson, he stopped 28 of 31 shots and you have a recipe for a win! Gustavsson has beyond earned the right to be the Sens starting goaltender moving forward as he gives this team the best chance of winning.
Looking ahead to Sunday night's game against Calgary, unfortunately, Sens fans never know who might be the next player to go into the covid protocol. One would have to assume DJ Smith will stick with the winning line-up. With the 5 pm start, I'm sure nothing will be announced until mid-afternoon in regards to possible lineup changes. The Flames sat in Ottawa rested watching the Sens play Pittsburgh, so you have to think Calgary is going to jump on this young blueline early and often. Both teams are playing their 3rd game in 4 nights, but Ottawa is caught playing back-to-back nights. One thing you can expect from this group is they will leave it all on the ice, regardless of the result.
I'm curious to hear Sens fans' thoughts about this win and what they expect to happen Sunday night against Calgary. Let's not forget, Ottawa started a stretch of 10 games in 17 nights on Thursday night. DJ Smith is going to need to manage his best player's minutes over this period in November.
Thanks for reading.
Kevin