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Senators Silence McDavid, Defeat Oilers 5-2

December 5, 2019, 8:20 PM ET [14 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Ottawa Senators wrapped up their Western Canada road trip last night with an impressive 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Propelled largely by an offensive outburst from depth players, the tired Senators surprised the Pacific-leading Oilers and put a swift end to their five-game losing streak. Here are the ‘thumbs’ from last night’s contest:

Thumbs Up: Scoring Slump? Over. Losing Streak? Over.

As much as most Senators fans are hoping for a high draft pick next June, it’s still nice to see the team have some success every once in a while. It had been five games since the group’s last victory, and one month to the day since they last scored five-plus goals in a single match. So, last night was really quite refreshing.

Thumbs Up: Craig Anderson’s Return
Back in action after a short stint on the injured reserve list, Anderson looked fantastic against the Oilers. He wasn’t overly busy, facing only 26 shots on the night, but he got the job done when called upon.

Much like the previous night in Vancouver, the Senators got off to a woefully slow start in the first period yesterday. Unlike Anders Nilsson in Vancouver, it was Anderson who made a couple key stops that allowed the Senators to stay in the game, which they would ultimately take over with ease. One of those stops was particularly memorable, as Connor McDavid had a chance to beat all six Senators on the ice to open the scoring. Anderson said no, leaving McDavid’s casualty total at five:


Thumbs Up: The Brannstrom/Lajoie Swap

After a bit of a rough outing in Vancouver, Erik Brannstrom sat out last night in favour of Maxime Lajoie. In limited minutes, Lajoie looked reasonably solid. Per Natural Stat Trick, he helped the Senators generate 60% of the five-on-five shot attempts and nearly 82% of the five-on-five expected goals when he was on the ice.

It appears that Lajoie’s quietly good performance made enough of an impression on the coaching staff and management, as the team sent Brannstrom to Belleville earlier today. It’s been clear for a while that Brannstrom needs a bit more AHL time before he’ll be ready to take on the NHL as a top-four defender, which makes this the right move for the organization now and in the future. Hopefully he has a chance to go to Belleville, develop some confidence, and challenge for a playoff spot while playing more competitive hockey. Those are things that will undoubtedly be of benefit to the Senators long-term. There’s no rush.

For Lajoie, Brannstrom's demotion likely means a sustained opportunity to build on his performance last year and prove that he can be an everyday player for this group moving forward. With opportunity like that knocking, hopefully he answers the door.

Thumbs Up: Tyler Ennis’ Production
Pierre Dorion has done a fairly good job of surrounding his core young pieces with veteran players on cheap, short-term deals that can be flipped for picks or prospects at the trade deadline. Tyler Ennis is one of those veteran players. He scored a goal and added two assists last night, which can only serve to help the cause of increasing his market value as the deadline gets closer.

Thumbs Up: Connor Brown Finally Scores
It had been a while for Connor Brown…

To paraphrase the great Hailey Salvian: If you had been asked prior to last night's game to pick a former Erie Otter named Connor to score a goal and add an assist, you probably would have picked McDavid. Thankfully for the Senators, it was Brown who won that battle.

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The Senators have a bit of a break before taking on the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night. That game will be the final one of the road trip, with the team then set to return home for a divisional matchup on Monday night against the Boston Bruins.

As always, thanks for reading.
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