Thoughts from Game One (Senators)

Senators

Thoughts from Game One

By Trevor Shackles

Oct 5, 2018 • 10:49 am

0comment-bubble

Game recaps aren't really my forté, especially if I am writing it the day after a game has actually happened. Most people know what the score was, plus I didn't have time to have any comments last night so I won't go in detail about every single thing that happened. Instead, here are some quick thoughts from game one of eighty two:

---It was definitely nice to at least get one point, but Ottawa blew it and should have gotten the win. When they were up 3-2, they had numerous chances on the powerplay, but they couldn't seem to convert on any one-timers. They were also facing Cam Ward, so it's not as if it was an unstoppable goalie behind the net. I guess I will take the one point, but it is fair to expect more from that game considering where they were in the third period.

---Craig Anderson looked like his 2017-18 self, which is not a good sign. Obviously it's just one game, but letting in four goals doesn't exactly inspire confidence. He settled down after the first two quick goals, but he will have to be better for the entire game if they don't want to be dead last in the league.

---Max Lajoie, have yourself a game. Lajoie scored only one goal in Belleville last season, and what does he do in his NHL debut? Not only did he score, but he also got an assist, plus he made his mom cry:

I love seeing stuff like that, because you forget how big of a deal it is for these players families. They've watched him work so hard over the years to get to this point and it must be incredibly surreal. I can't wait to see what else Max can bring.

---I was happy to see Colin White get on the board right away too, because if he got off to a scoreless streak then I feel like fans would turn on him quickly. He needs to have a solid season or else he will get usurped by other prospects, and he needs to show that he can be a positive offensive contributor. His speed was also on display as he looks faster than ever. I liked what I saw from him.

---Zack Smith has had quite a whirlwind recently:

Scoring that goal isn't going to change my opinion of him, but I can still be happy for the guy. If he gets to consistently play with Mark Stone, there might be even more goals coming, just like in 2015-16.

---Unsurprisingly, Cody Ceci led the team in ice-time (22:09), with his partner Mark Borowiecki just behind him. The two of them looked predictably dreadful together, although it was nice to see the other two pairings together because none of them are anchors on the ice. Boucher said he was going to switch it up for the next game, which is good and bad because at least Lajoie will make Ceci look a bit better, but then Borowiecki also weakens the second pairing with Wideman:

Either way, it's exciting to think about the possibility of having Thomas Chabot, Christian Wolanin, and Max Lajoie on the left side of the defense, so long as Borowiecki is treated as a 7th defenseman...

---It looks like Max McCormick could be out for a while, but there aren't many details:

I hope that Tkachuk is good to go for tomorrow because he was wearing a contact jersey this morning, but then Guy Boucher said that he is doubtful:

So we might have to wait a bit longer to see Tkachuk's debut, which is too bad. At least his injury appears to be minor though.

Next game is tomorrow at Toronto vs. the Maple Leafs at 7:00 EST.

Show Comments
Loading...
Loading...
0
Show comments for this article