Ok, bear with me for a bit because there is a lot to talk about.
We will start with the past. Last night the Ottawa Senators did almost everything right - giving up just 1 power play opportunity, holding Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to a point apiece and limiting the Blackhawks to 30 shots on Craig Anderson.
The problem is, the Blackhawks are still the defending Stanley Cup Champions and they are that for a reason. For as little as the Senators gave them, the Hawks surrendered even less and the only team not to be shut out in 2014-15 has now been shut out 3 times this season, and more importantly, two games in a row. They closed out 2015 with a 3-0 loss to the Devils at home and opened 2016 on the short end of an identical score against the Hawks on the road.
More on the goal drought in a minute or two, but I would think that Dave Cameron would be fairly happy with the way the game was executed, it was just a matter of not being able to finish their limited chances. It certainly wasn't the most exciting game that was played which is what the Senators needed to do in order to limit the Hawks' chances.
It wasn't a terrible game from the Senators' point of view, but when you are against the best you have to bring your best and the Ottawa squad didn't have the offense going. The result in that case was as expected.
IS JONATHAN DROUIN AN ANSWER?
There have been rumors simmering over the past couple of days and it was confirmed by the agent to Tampa Bay forward Jonathan Drouin that there has been a trade request made to Steve Yzerman dating back to November.
With Drouin being assigned to Syracuse of the AHL for "playing time", the chase is on and GMs are getting in line to kick the tires and try to steal the 3rd overall pick from the 2013 draft from the Lightning.
Let's face it, although Yzerman will listen, he is certainly not going to give away the prospect that has tremendous upside, but probably should have been in the AHL for some seasoning anyway, much like I have been trumpeting for Ottawa's Curtis Lazar.
Drouin has 8 points in 19 games while averaging about 14 minutes per game that he gets into. The problem is he hasn't been able to find consistent playing time in the Lightning top 6, and unlike Lazar he isn't going to fill a bottom 6 role.
Which begs a couple of questions, 1) should the Senators press to try and pry the prospect out of the Bolts, and if so 2) what would it take to get him?
The answer to the first question is, yes. There have been some red flags in terms of attitude, but one commenter yesterday made a good comparison to how Kyle Turris was perceived in Arizona before the trade that brought him to Ottawa, and that turned out to be nothing but positive. Sometimes a player just needs a chance and a fresh start.
There is an immediate hole in the Senators top 6 that has been patchwork and although Zack Smith has tried, and it worked for a little while, he is certainly not a permanent solution and there is no indication that Clarke MacArthur is coming back any time soon. Drouin is an offense-first guy and would almost certainly be a better solution than anything the Senators have tried since MacArthur went down in his 4th game of the season in October.
The answer to the second question is, who knows. This could end up being an auction-type deal where Yzerman, once he decides to move forward with a trade, can sit back and pit team against team to come up with the best return, and whatever he gets will most likely be an overpayment.
Ottawa needs to do something, because their reliance on Stone, Turris, Ryan, Hoffman, Zibanejad and Karlsson to do all of the scoring will result in stretches like the one that they are going through now, where that group just isn't firing on all cylinders. And when that happens, the Senators are sunk because this is what the rest of the forwards have done:
Pageau - Goal-less in 6 games, 4 points in last 18 games Chiasson - Goal-less in 25 games, 2 assists in that time Lazar - Goal-less in 22 games, 1 goal since scoring on opening night Prince - Goal-less in 12 games, scored in just 1 of his 25 GP Neil - 1 goal in last 32 games, 2 on the season Smith - 3 goals in last 17 games playing essentially top 6 minutes Dziurzynski, McCormick, Puempel, Dzingel, Greening - 1 goal in 33 combined GP.
That is a serious lack of secondary scoring. This group doesn't need to score every night, but now and again would be nice to take a little of the pressure off the top end to get it done every night.
Top 6 forwards, especially young offensive ones, don't come along very often and Bryan Murray might want to push a little harder for this one. Drouin might not be the answer, and he might or might not be really ready for a top 6 role right now but it certainly couldn't hurt to find out.
The problem is, the price to find out will be high, and if you are wrong then it sets the franchise back a bit.
And finally, to the near future...
The Senators don't have time to lick their wounds as they are right back at it against another Central Division powerhouse, the St. Louis Blues. The Blues are now tied with the Hawks for 2nd in the Central behind the Stars, with the Hawks holding a game in hand. St. Louis is smarting off a 39 save performance from Jonathan Bernier that allowed the Leafs to spank them 4-1 Saturday night, which will no doubt have Ken Hitchcock in a foul mood and that will translate to his team.
The Senators and Blues didn't meet in the calendar year 2015, playing both of their games early on last year. Ottawa has won their last 2 in St. Louis, both in a shootout.
Vladimir Tarasenko, who wrongly has been linked in the past to the Senators and David Rundblad as the potential draft pick that got away, has rocketed to superstardom and is one of the top and most electrifying players in the league. Yes, he was selected with the pick that Ottawa sent the Blues, but given Murray's dis-interest in drafting Russians there is certainly no indication whatsoever that he would have been selected by Ottawa in that slot, so while it might be fun to lament the one that got away and what could have been (see earlier discussion of lack of secondary scoring) it is just fantasy.
St. Louis is not quite as good at home as the Hawks, but they are pretty close at 13-7-2. In fact, the reason the Central Division is so dominant this year is because they are ridiculously good on home ice, with the exception of the Avalanche.
The Blues haven't had much success at 5 on 5 of late, with just 1 goal in the last 147 minutes at full strength. Combined with the Senators current slump and if they can stay out of the box, this could be a 0-0 game.
But then again, with the potential firepower that is waiting to break out, and the fact that it will be Brian Elliott against Andrew Hammond between the pipes, it could also end up 10-9 and we could see all 4 goalies.
It is no understatement to say that the success of the Senators begins and ends with Erik Karlsson driving the bus from the blue line, but can he continue to log 30+ minutes and have anything left in the tank, especially in a back to back situation.
The Senators are 1-5 in the back half of these situations, which doesn't bode well for this one. But the Senators have made a habit of defying the odds and doing the unexpected (in both good and bad ways). While not always pretty, it is at least usually dramatic and that should continue tonight.