The New York Islanders had lost four straight prior to last night’s game and since acquiring J-G Pageau from the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline. Once a fixture in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Islanders now find themselves hanging by a thread to the last wildcard position, with the surging Rangers on their heels. So, there couldn’t have been a better time for the Islanders to visit Ottawa for a matchup against the basement-dwelling Senators. The stars were aligned for them, with Pageau returning home and their team needing a win. What happened, though? They dropped a 4-3 decision for their fifth straight defeat. The only conclusion: J-G Pageau has cursed the Islanders.
Here are last night’s thumbs:
Thumbs Up: Pageau’s Welcome Back It began with a beautiful video tribute, highlighting so many of the wonderful things that Pageau accomplished both on and off the ice with the Senators. It continued with the “Pageau, Pageau!… chant. It ended with an extended standing ovation. Simply put, last night’s tribute to a fan favourite was everything you would ever want to see in a moment like that one. Thumbs Up: The Senators’ Overall Play Other than a bit of a lag in the second period, the Senators were full value for their victory last night --- and somehow that lag in the second even provided them with two goals! They controlled even-strength play in both the first and third periods, creating offensive opportunities and protecting their own net at the same time. Seeing the team play like it did in those bookend frames provided a lot of confidence that they can be a competitive club with a little bit more talent on the roster.
Thumbs Up: Craig Anderson’s Goaltending The only reason that second period lag still provided for a Senators advantage on the scoreboard was the play of Craig Anderson. He was terrific in the second period specifically, and solid all night long. He stopped 37 of the 40 Islander shots he faced. Thumbs Up: Anthony Duclair Scored Anthony Duclair’s 23rd of the season was a beautiful goal, and one that reminded us all of brighter times in his season. He used his speed, he cut to the net, and he beat Semyon Varlamov with a very quick release; he looked like a goal scorer. It’s been a really rough go for Duclair in recent months, so perhaps this will give him a bit of confidence to go out and do more of that down the stretch. Thumbs Up: More Shorthanded Goals! With Boedker’s second period shorthanded goal, the Senators have now scored 15 on the season as a team. That’s an incredible number, and leads the league. While it didn’t end up being the game winner, Boedker’s tally *felt* like a turning point as I was watching the game. The Islanders were up 2-1 at that point, and found themselves on the man advantage. Boedker turned the page and put momentum squarely back on Ottawa’s side.
Thumbs Up: Brady Hits 20 Brady Tkachuk hitting 20 goals as the undisputed offensive leader on this team – without Mark Stone by his side – is a huge win for the Senators. I know there’s been some criticism of Tkachuk’s performance this season and the perceived lack of a step forward, but I just don’t see it. He drives play for this Senators team. He produces for this Senators team. He does a lot of the “little things… right for this Senators team. Nothing that he’s done this year has made me anything but tremendously excited for Brady Tkachuk’s future. Now just imagine him next to a Lafreniere or a Byfield.
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As always, thanks for reading.