It was a little tough to keep your attention on the game in New Jersey last night as the Devils and Senators put on a snoozefest, which the way the TSN announcers were talking suits the Devils just fine.
In the end, it was a 2-1 Devils victory, but the game and at least a point was on the stick of Bobby Ryan in the dying second of the game, but he somehow misfired and didn't end up getting the shot away with a gaping cage staring him in the face.
The teams combined for just 39 shots on goal in the game, and the lone Senator to beat Corey Schneider was rookie Curtis Lazar, who broke in alone and jammed it past the former Canuck just after the midway point of the game to open the scoring. It was the 28th time in 49 games where the Senators have scored first. Unfortunately, there is no team in the NHL with a worse record when scoring first, and this loss pushed them to 11-10-7 when they break the ice this season. That explains a lot of the reason why they are in NHL purgatory in the standings.
They didn't hold the lead long as Adam Henrique tied it up less than 2 minutes later, and then Mike Cammalleri sscored what proved to be the game winner just over 5 minutes into the third.
After the fireworks and right lamp lighting the Senators did on Saturday night, this was equally lacking intensity on both sides and it looked every bit like two teams that knew their playoff chances were extinguished already. The lack of intensity can be demonstrated by the fact that the Senators as a team (save for Robin Lehner) blocked just Devils 1 shot attempt the entire night.
I can see the fans in Ottawa getting upset if the team comes home on Thursday and puts forth a similar effort, because for whatever reason, the legs missed the flight to Jersey.
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A lot of time this season has been spent on determining what to do with Curtis Lazar. First it was making the opening day roster...then the 9 game mark...then the World Juniors. Well, there is one more....
Lazar has 4 more games to play before the final decision has to be made on this season, and this counts as a year of service toward unrestricted free agency. Given the fact that the Senators really aren't playing for anything at the moment, would it make since to send Lazar back to junior? There are different ways to look at the decision:
A) He is finally getting quality minutes with quality offensive players by playing on a line with Kyle Turris and Mark Stone. If he can continue to log those key minutes he will definitely continue to learn and improve at the NHL level.
B) Is it worth it to the Senators to burn a year of restricted free agency for a player who is good enough to play in the NHL but has other options. This decision doesn't affect just this year, but also 6 or 7 years down the road when he can become an unrestricted free agent a year sooner once he plays his 40th game of the season.
The Edmonton Oil Kings look like a lock to make the WHL playoffs, but also look like a lock to be a wild card team. Parachuting Lazar into that situation, much like the World Juniors last month, would allow him to assert himself in the team and demonstrate what he has to give.
Sending him to junior knowing what ability he has at the NHL level and being comfortable with that decision would also open up a spot for the Senators to get a look at someone like Matt Puempel or Shane Prince, who have been biding their time in Binghamton without getting a sniff of the NHL yet.
Maybe pulling some of the other prospects up for some NHL auditions at some point over the final 33 games will put some spark in their legs and give a bright spot to what has been an otherwise a pretty brutal year for the entire organization.
Is it me or does it seem like every time a vital decision has to be made on his near future, Lazar scores a goal?