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Senators @ Rangers: There's Competition in the Lafrenière Sweepstakes

November 4, 2019, 10:03 PM ET [21 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
If the Ottawa Senators are bad, what does that make the New York Rangers? Tonight, the Senators defeated the Rangers by a score of 6-2 in a game that suggested Ottawa will have competition in the Alexis Lafrenière sweepstakes this year.

We can all agree that the Senators are tanking. You don’t have to look too far beyond their salary cap situation, or their record in the standings, to come to that conclusion. What the Rangers are doing, though? Your guess is as good as mine. After stockpiling picks for the last couple years, that team looked poised to turn the page in 2019-20. Adding Artemi Panarin via the free agent market and Kaapo Kakko via the draft seemed like a great way to cap off what (at least on paper) looked like a successful rebuild. That line of thinking hasn’t even come close to fruition.

Per Natural Stat Trick, and prior to the inclusion of tonight’s result, the Rangers rank dead last in five-on-five shot attempt share (43.23%) and 30th in five-on-five expected goal share (43.79%). The Senators, for all their tank-worthy efforts, aren’t even close to being that bad in either category. So, as much as it’s always a little bit surprising to see the Senators pick up a “W” in the standings, this result shouldn’t come as a major shock.

Another thing that was somewhat expected with these two teams taking to the ice? Fun. When bad meets bad, craziness will often ensue:



From the perspective of an Ottawa fan, this game was fun. Everything you could have possibly wanted to see was seen. Brady Tkachuk had a multi-point night, Vlad Namestnikov scored against his old team, Ron Hainsey scored his first as a Senator, JG Pageau potted a couple, Anders Nilsson made a lot of stops. The list goes on, and on, and on.

There won’t be many nights like this for the Senators in 2019-20, so when they do happen it’s important to enjoy them. While there might be some apprehension about feeling positive after a win given the impact it can have on draft lottery odds, a big win once in a blue moon isn’t going to change the fact that the Senators are going nowhere. Tonight isn’t going to change that.

What tonight might do, however, is make you tune in tomorrow when the team takes to the ice against the New York Islanders. Upbeat hockey is appointment viewing, even when the team isn’t particularly good. Give DJ Smith & Co. a lot of credit for making this team one worth watching in a season that would have been easy to forget about completely.

As always, thanks for reading.
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