Bobby Ryan scored his first hat trick as a Senator in helping his team get by the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Monday night, snapping a 3 game losing streak and finishing their 2014 season on a winning note.
I won't have much in depth analysis today, as I was in Montreal watching Team Canada defeat Finland 4-1 and didn't get a chance to see the game at all.
So from a purely statistical point of view, here is what I imagine happened:
* Ottawa's +40 Corsi at 5 on 5 was pretty remarkable, so I guess they dominated the play. Every Senator had a positive Corsi rating on the night led by Erik Karlsson's +27. Karlsson and Ryan tied for the most shot attempts with 8 apiece, but all of Ryan's were on goal while Karlsson was credited with 3 shots.
* Chris Phillips made his return to the lineup with Mark Borowiecki coming out, played more than 21 minutes, mostly with Karlsson. He recorded an assist and was +1.
* It might have been an empty netter with less than 2 seconds left, but Colin Greening got on the board for the first time this season. With Pageau recording an assist earlier in the game, every Senators skater now has at least a point.
So the Senators have a few days off before taking back to the ice on Saturday, when they head to Boston for a critical matchup with the Bruins. They currently trail the Bruins by 4 points, a gap that could be 6 if Boston beats the Leafs on Wednesday night.
Was this a game where the fortunes turn around for the Senators, or is it yet another tease and perhaps two points that the team got but in the end might have better been left on the table?