The Ottawa Senators found themselves less than one period away from accomplishing the mission – i.e. losing to another lottery team in regulation. A late power play goal from Artem Anisimov and yet another solid performance from Marcus Hogberg prevented that from happening. For an astounding 11th time this season (!), the Senators earned themselves a loser point.
Here are tonight’s thumbs: Thumbs Up: Marcus Hogberg, Starter of the Future If Marcus Hogberg can do what he’s done behind this team, imagine what he might be able to do behind a team that plays competent defense. He’s got a goals-against average that starts with a “3… and a save percentage that sits at .910.
He wasn’t absurdly busy tonight like he has been on many nights this season, but Hogberg made the saves he needed to make in order to give the Senators a chance to win. He seems to do that a lot.
It's crazy to think that Hogberg has earned himself more loser points than regulations wins and losses combined (!) in his career to date. A 2-5-8 record from a goaltender is one of the strangest things you'll ever see in this sport. Henrik Lundqvist is the King, but Marcus Hogberg might be the Loser Point King.
Thumbs Up: Drake Batherson’s Confidence There have been a number of instances in recent ‘thumbs’ blogs highlighting Drake Batherson’s apparent heightened sense of confidence. Tonight provides for yet another one of those examples:
Replay of Batherson's PPG from Reilly and Pageau pic.twitter.com/pWFEOcIzTv
— OSNL (@OSNL11) February 5, 2020
Thumbs Down: Anthony Duclair’s Scoring Slump Continues He had a few great chances tonight, but Anthony Duclair was unable to put the puck past the goaltender to end what is now a 15-game slump. It’s hard not to feel bad for him. Thumbs Up: Colin White was Buzzing There has been lots of talk this season about Colin White’s underwhelming performance after signing his sizable contract extension. Tonight he looked like the player the Senators were hoping to get when they locked him up. It seemed like he was involved in the play whenever he was on the ice --- in a good way! The underlying numbers line up with the eye test, as White led the Senators in both five-on-five shot attempt share and expected goal share.
Thumbs Up: Special Teams The Senators went 2/5 on the power play and 3/3 on the penalty kill. It looked like the special teams battle was going to go in the other direction when the Ducks killed Sam Steel’s double minor early in the game, and followed it up with an even-strength goal, but Ottawa really turned the tide as the game progressed. Thumbs Down: The Trade Deadline Action Plan During Bruce Garrioch’s intermission segment, he listed a number of players that the Senators are hoping to re-sign rather than trade at the deadline. That list was way too long.
Thumbs Down: The Sharks Beat the Flames Why, Calgary? Why?
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The thumbs are a little light tonight, simply because the game was, well, boring. Fans will be in for much more of a treat on Thursday when the high-flying Colorado Avalanche come to town. There’s a lot to like about that team, and their fast-paced style should provide for some good entertainment value.
As always, thanks for reading.