Brady Tkachuk said it best in his post-game comments: “Losing sucks.… The Ottawa Senators delivered a sixth straight loss tonight, this one again at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks. Despite playing arguably their best period of the season to open the game, Ottawa left the building with a disappointing 5-1 loss in their back pocket. Here are tonight’s thumbs:
Thumbs Down: Goaltending… Again As mentioned, the Senators played a nearly perfect period in the first frame. They outshot Vancouver by a margin of 23-7 (!), which in turn was matched with an 80% five-on-five expected goal share (Natural Stat Trick). To walk out of that period knotted at one on the scoreboard felt like a cruel trick; at worst it should have been a 1-0 lead.
That perfect period was tarnished by Marcus Hogberg’s inability to squeeze the puck. Rebound control was an issue for him all night long, and it cost the Senators early. It’s hard not to dream about what could have been had he stopped all seven shots fired his way in the first, but that’s not the world in which we live. Our world has a natural law against good goaltending in the Ottawa crease.
Thatcher Demko was phenomenal. Hogberg wasn’t. It may not have been the only difference tonight, but it was a significant one.
Thumbs Down: Mike Reilly’s Costly Mistakes Plus/minus isn’t a great stat, but it sure tells a story this evening. Mike Reilly earned every bit of his minus-three rating, with bad play after bad play that allowed Vancouver to either create quality scoring chances or put the puck in the net. There’s been no shortage of lacklustre defensive play on the Senators blue line over the last two seasons, but it’s hard for me to remember a player playing such an integral role in so many goals against in a single game.
Thumbs Up: The Top Line The top line once again delivered a solid performance, with strong underlying numbers and tangible results to go with them. The trio of Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk, and Drake Batherson teamed up to score Ottawa’s only goal of the night, a power play marker that knotted things at one in the first period. The goal was a testament to the value of going to the net, battling for pucks, and never giving up on the play. It was great to see Norris rewarded for the line’s efforts.
Thumbs Down: No Bang for their Buck The Senators committed big dollars to Evgenii Dadonov during the offseason; seven games into this shortened campaign, it’s fair to say that they expected more. He was… fine tonight. But Ottawa isn’t paying for fine. This is a player who was brought in with top-six offensive pedigree. If this team is going to have a shot in games as this year continues, they are going to need him to start contributing goals and assists.
Thumbs Down: Erik Brannstrom Time? Artem Zub’s Moment? Maybe it’s wishful thinking, maybe it’s not. The Senators need to recall Erik Brannstrom to see what he can do. Suggesting that he wouldn’t be able to do better than what some of the others on this roster have done to date is asinine. The same likely goes for Artem Zub. It would be nearly impossible for them to be worse than the likes of Braydon Coburn, Mike Reilly, Josh Brown, and Erik Gudbranson have been to start the season.
Thumbs Up: DJ Smith’s Ice Time Allocation The Tkachuk line (plus Dadonov) led the way in terms of forward ice time tonight, which is a step in the right direction.
Thumbs Down: Derek Stepan’s Role It’s becoming quite clear that Derek Stepan just doesn’t seem to have much left in the tank. Beyond ending up well on the wrong side of all the underlying numbers, he *looked* slow and out of place tonight. There was no better example of him just being a half-second behind than when Tim Stützle fed him a beautiful pass late in the game, and he was unable to do anything with it other than flub the puck in Demko’s direction.
Thumbs Up: Opportunity Knocks for Matt Murray Matt Murray hasn’t been very good for the Senators to start the season, as evidenced by his .862 save percentage and 4.47 goals-against average. Even so, opportunity is knocking for him. With the Senators mired in a losing streak, the veteran goaltender has a chance to stop the bleeding tomorrow night. This is the type of game and situation you pay a $6.25M, two-time Stanley Cup champion goalie for in today’s NHL. He needs to go out and earn that cheque. Thumbs Down: The Pro Scouting Department
*signs bad veteran players that contribute to the team losing*
— Michael Stuart (@hockeybuzzstu) January 28, 2021
"It's so important to have veteran players around to guide the young guys through tough stretches like this."
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One last chance at the Vancouver Canucks comes tomorrow night. Let’s hope they don’t waste it.
As always, thanks for reading.