The Ottawa Senators, and more accurately Andrew Hammond, are quite simply "in the zone".
Some people theorize that because the systems are followed more closely and there is less randomness at the NHL level that certain skaters are more effective at the NHL level than the minors or lower
I am beginning to wonder if that theory also applies to goaltenders, because what Andrew Hammond is doing right now is spectacular. If anyone told you that they saw this coming, they are lying, and that would include Hammond's parents and the goalie himself.
Ten NHL starts, ten games allowing 2 goals or less, picking up 19 of a possible 20 points. The Senators have lost in regulation just once in their last 12 games,and have been riding the wave of Hammond's unlikely success that is starting to go beyond lightning in a bottle.
I am not sure if the Boston game would have been any different with Hammond and hindsight is 20/20, but that loss is looming larger and larger as the one hiccup as the Senators chase down the Bruins, and now the Capitals have dropped back into the fight.
The Senators didn't play a perfect game against the Islanders by any means, but when they did have their lapses Hammond was there to shut the door. It looked like he was going to be unbeatable all night until a nice deflection by Tyler Kennedy on the doorstep cut the Senators' lead to 2-1 and made it an exciting and tense last 8 minutes.
The Senators had quieted the crowd on goals by Matt Puempel and Kyle Turris in the second period rewarding Hammond with some goal support after he had kept them in the game early on.
It was a balanced effort, and because the Senators got only 1 power play, Cameron was able to limit the minutes for Erik Karlsson to less than 23, and play all 6 defensemen in a regular rotation. They bent but didn't break, and Hammond cleaned up any messes they created against a speedy and mobile Islanders forward group who created a pretty decent forecheck of their own in stretches.
Wins on back to back nights against the teams with the second and third most home wins in the Eastern Conference is quite an accomplishment, and Saturday will be spent watching as the Bruins visit the Penguins in a game that would be huge for the Bruins to drop.
Earlier I mentioned the Capitals as well, and Senators fans have been so focused on catching Boston that it has almost gone unnoticed that after Washington's loss to the Stars on Friday night they are just 7 points up on the Senators, who hold 2 games in hand on the Caps. Ovechkin and Co. have won just 4 of their last 10, with three of those wins coming against Toronto, Buffalo and Columbus. They are sliding quickly and could drop behind the Bruins should Boston win this afternoon.
It might be time for the Senators to adjust the target. Washington plays Boston on Sunday night while Ottawa will be hosting Philadelphia at the same time, and the worst outcome of that one would be a 3 point game.
The bottom line is, Ottawa has to take care of its own business and leave the scoreboard watching to the fans. The way things are shaking out, it might be easier to catch the traditionally fickle Caps than the perennially steady (and almost equally red-hot) Bruins down the stretch. Washington has picked the wrong time to fall into a slump, and it must feel like they are skating in quicksand right now while the Bruins and Senators have the wings provided by Red Bull.
Not that the Boston loss was Craig Anderson's fault, but you have to thing that Dave Cameron has no choice but to run with Hammond now until the wheels fall of. Getting Anderson in was the right move at the time, but Hammond has given hope to a team that was left for dead by almost everyone (including yours truly) a month ago.