What started out great for the Senators ended with a ton of questions. A power play goal from Kyle Turris just 22 seconds in got the Sens rolling, but that was just about all fans of the visiting team had to cheer about as Montreal dominated pretty much the rest of the game en route to a 9-2 win, and the score could have been worse than that.
Not much went right for the Senators, and for the third straight game they allowed 5 or more goals, for a total of 22 in 3 games while scoring just 5. Obviously, not having Erik Karlsson in the lineup if a big factor, but doesn't explain everything.
So after winning their first 3 exhibition games, the Senators end their preseason schedule with a 3-3 record. Its just preseason but the way they have dropped those games is a bit concerning.
And, they have yet to ice a full lineup, with Erik Karlsson, Derick Brassard both injured for the entire preseason and sitting out veterans like they did Bobby Ryan and Cody Ceci last night. I wrote earlier in the week about how important Karlsson is to the success or failure of this team, and that was never more apparent than last night. As he gets closer to a return, it can't come soon enough.
Another question is what to do with Thomas Chabot. In some ways he is very ready, while in others his green-ness shows through. The Senators are a team that rely on a system, especially defensively, that requires all 18 skaters to be on board and pulling in the same direction. Chabot is used to freewheeling and improvising on the fly, but that isn't going to make the team successful because it puts other players out of position and scrambling. That happened on a couple of occasions against the Habs and it cost them.
I predicted Chabot would be a Calder finalist in a hotstove contribution last week, but after watching the last 3 games I think the player and team would be better served sending him to Belleville to immerse himself in the system and learn how the team needs him to play while finding a balance between playing the system and letting his talent loose. The system worked for Karlsson, it can work for Chabot.
Logan Brown and Alex Formemton had good camps, but neither is ready for full time NHL duty. Neither has had a dominant junior season yet, and both have the opportunity to do so this year. Neither one will be better served playing in a fourth line role at the NHL level than a prominent role in junior, a lesson the organization should have learned over the past four years.
The puck drops for real in 4 days, and there are lots of questions to still be answered.