Corsi and Fenwick be damned!
The Ottawa Senators took advantage of a team playing without its top scorer, and once again Craig Anderson was stellar in turning aside all 35 shots he faced for his first (EDIT: and by first I mean second!) shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over the Minnesota Wild. CLarke MacArthur completed a great passing play on a second period power play for the opening goal and what proved to be the game winner, while Mike Hoffman had his first career 2 goal game to add insurance and give Anderson more than enough goal support on this night.
Here are some random thoughts on the game
* "Opportunistic" would be the buzzword for the Senators, who scored on their first two shots of the second period and had just 9 shots on goal through 40 minutes and finished with just 17 in total.
* They might be the third or fourth line in terms of ice time, but the "Kid Line" of Stone, Lazar and Hoffman is quickly becoming a go-to unit for offense. They combined for both goals at even strength, and Lazar was 70% in the faceoff circle. They still get hemmed in in their defensive zone on occasion, but they will get that straightened out with experience. They have exceeded any expectation that might possibly been had of a line that was pretty much put together through necessity.
* The emergence of the Lazar line has overshadowed the inability of the Zibanejad line to create much offensively. As Lazar progresses, I might consider moving Mika to the wing and playing David Legwand in the middle on a second/third line with Chiasson, creating a fourth line of Smith, Neil and Michalek. At this stage Michalek hasn't done much to generate offense and is quickly becoming a penalty killing specialist. I have always thought Zibanejad (whose bobblehead looked absolutely nothing like him, by the way) would be pretty good driving up and down the wing and I would prefer him there. With the depth up the middle, I am surprised it is a combination that hasn't been tried yet. Smith and Legwand on the same line doesn't fit very well and is simply there because that is what is left over.
* I can admit when I am wrong, and I was indeed wrong about Anderson. I though he might have run his course in Ottawa after last season's performance, and was very skeptical when they extended his contract this summer. I was wrong, and he has been every bit as good as he was in the shortened 2013 season. He even stopped a wraparound against the Wild! (if you have been reading this space in the last month or so you will get that one).
* Kyle Turris continues to search for that elusive second goal. He rang one off the post in the third period, and it seemed like on the late power play the team was trying to set him up to get him off the skids. He has had a bushel of chances in the last couple of games, and the longer he goes, the tighter he grips his stick.
* Don't look now, but despite allowing 35 shots, the Senators defense has been playing pretty well in the last couple of games, as a group. There is still the odd mistake, and sometimes glaring ones, but remember that the old man on the blue line last night was 26 year old Gryba. The 6 blueliners in the lineup against Minnesota have combined for some 776 games, with 326 of those belonging to Erik Karlsson. They did allow a high number of shots, but Anderson didn't have to make very many really difficult saves against the Wild.
* For all the talk of getting rid of this or that defenseman over the opening of the season, the team has gelled pretty well and considering the youth that is only going to get better, the team is in good shape the way it is. Gryba had one of his best games against the Wild, and even chipped in with a nice drop pass to Hoffman for the second goal after jumping into the rush. Different guys are stepping up on different nights, and the negatives are slowly being diminished game by game. Getting Marc Methot back, whenever that happens, will be like acquiring a top 4 defenseman without giving anything up, but the experience gained by Cowen, Wiercioch, Ceci, Borowiecki and Gryba will help the team long-term. You aren't going to see a blue line with 6 Norris Trophy candidates, but as long as each player does his job, the team will be successful.
* The Senators are 2-0 so far in this 4 game homestand, and are the only team in the league without a regulation loss on home ice (4-0-2). Last year their inability to win at CTC was a big reason why they missed the playoffs by 5 points last season. They have 2 games left on this homestand (Winnipeg on Saturday and Toronto on Sunday) before playing a ton of hockey on the road for most of the next month.
* Did Marco Scandella really think it was a good idea to scrap with Borowiecki? The fact that Mike Yeo wanted a charging penalty on Boro was laughable as it wasn't even close to a charge.
* Ryan Suter played over 32 minutes on the night, but wasn't really noticeable for an elite defenseman. No shots, -2 and 3 hits does not make for an all-star calibre night.
* Not that it mattered as much because the Wild power play has been abysmal this season, but they did only allow 3 power play opportunities. They had started to get a little undisciplined for a stretch, namely the Chicago-Columbus-Chicago stretch, but MacLean seems to have reigned them in.