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Canadiens Take Advantage of Senators Blue Line Woes

February 23, 2020, 1:37 AM ET [25 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Ottawa Senators proved on Saturday night that life without Dylan DeMelo and Thomas Chabot patrolling the blue line is a real challenge for this organization. The Montreal Canadiens thoroughly dominated the Senators, and earned themselves a 3-0 shutout victory in the process.

Here are Saturday’s thumbs:

Thumbs Up: Brady Tkachuk Continues to Make Friends

It was a dreadful night for almost every member of the Senators, but Brady Tkachuk was one of a few exceptions. He was once again phenomenal for Ottawa, helping the team to shot attempt and expected goal shares of more than 60% when he was on the ice at five-on-five per Natural Stat Trick. To do that while annoying the Canadiens in the way that he did all night long takes a unique and valuable skill set. It really feels like Tkachuk has taken another big step forward in his development over the last couple weeks.

Thumbs Up: Josh Norris’ NHL Debut
Judging Norris’ debut within the context of an abysmal team performance is a little bit difficult, but overall I thought he looked as good as anyone could look debuting in those circumstances. He didn’t look out of place, which is half the battle for a young professional taking his first steps at this level. He had a few shots on goal, made a couple hits, and was good in the faceoff circle. It’s easy to be excited about what’s to come for this player, and nothing he did on Saturday tempered that excitement.

Thumbs Down: The Defence

Ottawa was already shorthanded on the blue line after trading Dylan DeMelo and losing Cody Goloubef on waivers, which made seeing Thomas Chabot leave the game with an injury a little bit nerve-racking. Brendan Gallagher rode Chabot into the boards awkwardly, and Chabot never returned. Thankfully the post-game report from D.J. Smith was promising, as he indicated that Chabot’s ailment is nothing long-term.

Even so, watching this Ottawa defence function without both DeMelo and Chabot was an eye-opening experience. It was painful. The Senators struggled mightily to move the puck up ice and out of their own zone, and it cost them on the scoreboard. Prospects like Erik Brannstrom and JBD better turn into capable NHL players, or this rebuild may need to be extended. There’s not enough NHL-quality talent on the D roster right now.

Thumbs Up: Trade Talk

It’s nice to see that both Tyler Ennis and Vladislav Namestnikov are drawing enough attention to warrant being kept out of the lineup for precautionary reasons. Hopefully Pierre Dorion can pull the trigger on a couple trades in advance of Monday, as a repeat of last year's Cody Ceci situation would not be looked upon kindly.

Thumbs Down: The Pageau Plan

The biggest decision Dorion has to make before Monday is whether or not he should trade J-G Pageau. The messaging from insiders is anything but consistent, which has led to mass confusion among the fan base. There have been reports that they are likely to trade him, that they are likely to sign him, and that they are likely to keep him even without a contract. The third option is quite clearly the most undesirable, but the time remaining to move forward with option ‘A’ or ‘B’ is running out.

Thumbs Up: The Out-of-Town Scoreboard

The San Jose Sharks lost, and now sit only one point ahead of the Anaheim Ducks. If Joe Thornton is indeed open to the idea of being traded to a contender, as he indicated earlier on Saturday, the Sharks could fall even further.

Bonus Thumbs Up: David Ayers
How many of you actually stuck with watching the Senators game in real time once David Ayers took over between the pipes for the Carolina Hurricanes in their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs? It was a special, special night for the 42-year-old emergency goaltender.

Bonus Bonus Thumbs Up:

Senators Foundation Telethon

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As always, thanks for reading.
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