It wasn't pretty, and at times it was downright ugly, but for the first time in 4 games the Senators gave Robin Lehner more than 1 goal to work with and he was able to make the 2 he did get stand up.
Ottawa came out firing early, and finally took the lead on - get this - a power play goal, courtesy Erik Karlsson and Sabres All-Star Zemgus Girgensons' deflection.
The second period was all Buffalo as they pounded the Ottawa net with shots and the Senators looked like the cellar dwellers, but Lehner was able to bar the door and turn aside all 21 shots.
Buffalo, whose power play is just as dismal if not moreso than that of the Senators of late, finally got on the board to tie the game early in the third, on a screen shot from Tyler Myers that looked to go off the leg of Girgensons in front but was credited to the big blueliner. Milan Michalek chipped a rebound past Jonas Enroth with less than 8 minutes left and Ottawa held on for the win.
I attended the Ottawa Analytics conference that was held on the weekend, and I will admit, not being a huge beliver in the advanced stats, that there is something to be said for them having a place in evaluating players and even a little bit in predictive behaviour. I also think that sometimes there is the ability to shape those stats into a way to support your opinion no matter which side you are on.
Case in point, last night's Corsi statistics. Corsi takes into account the shot attempts by a team in whatever situation you choose (5 on 5 for example). But if you look at the overall percentage of shots that actually get through, the Senators usually seem to be in a much lower percentile than most of their opponents.
Against the Sabres (in all situations), Ottawa directed 65 shots at the Sabres net, while Buffalo countered with 53. However, just 26 of Ottawa's attempts got through on the net (40%) while 36 of Buffalo's attempts got on goal (68%).
This is a trend I have noticed with the Senators, and it either tells me A) Ottawa should be a little more selective with their shot attempts even if it means lowering their Corsi and B) The Senators aren't doing enough defensively to block and/or alter opposition shot attempts by getting in the lanes. I will look at this more in the next couple of days and see if my hunch is a thing or not...
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Well, we can stop wondering if Evander Kane would be a fit in Ottawa or not, because it isn't going to happen. Kane has just been dealt along with Zach Bogosian to the Buffalo Sabres for Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, prospects Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux and a first round pick (whichever ends up being the lower of the Islanders or Wild picks that they own.
The Sabres, if they can reign in Kane, look to be building something good, with Kane joining Sam Reinhart, Nikita Zadorov, Rasmus Ristolainen and it looks like one of Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. A couple more years of misery could be followed by some pretty decent years if they can keep the core together. A nice get by Tim Murray.