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Shane Pinto scored the OT winner as the Ottawa Senators knocked off the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Sunday night. For a pre-season game, the Sens top prospects were the best players on the ice tonight, which was very nice to see. I know they say, don’t read too much into a pre-season game but there were many positive takeaways. But, can Ottawa please eliminate the terrible 2nd period lapses they had last year? It happened again in Winnipeg, with 1 shot on goal in the 2nd period after outshooting/outchancing the Jets in the first period. The Sens recovered with a much better third period and OT, but this second period letdown pattern needs to be eliminated, please!

Pinto was solid in the face-off circle(over 60%) and logged important minutes both on the PP and the PK. Outside of a bad cross checking penalty that he took in the 1st period, Pinto was the Sens best forward. To add to the mix, Pinto was paired up with Alex Formenton on the PK and this duo was dynamite. Formenton had a beauty snap shot in the 3rd period to tie the game at two. I can’t wait to see more of these two together. Having Nick Paul and Connor Brown as the other PK duo, the Sens PK will be in great hands this year.

Ridly Greig had a highlight reel goal to open the scoring that many will talk about for weeks to come but his crosscheck in the 2nd period got him a game misconduct and might get him a suspension from the league office. Thankfully, Ottawa was able to kill the five minute major. Regardless, Greig looked very solid tonight in limited action, he was also stopped on a partial breakaway in the first, showcasing his speed and skill.

I thought Mark Kalestic had a very strong game, using his size and edge to frustrate the Jets all game long. He always finishes his checks and if he can keep this up he will push for a spot on the opening night roster.

Both Parker Kelly and Egor Sokolov played strong games, if these two can bring the intensity they brought tonight, both will make it hard for the coaching staff to send them down to Belleville.

Tyler Ennis did what we all expected, created chances for his linemates, solid on the wall on the PP and I thought his defensive zone coverage was better than we have seen in the past. He will need to bring this each night in the pre-season to secure a contract with the team this season.

Austin Watson answered the bell when Sokolov took a cheap shot, dropping the gloves, sticking up for his teammate. As Sens GM Pierre Dorion said on Wednesday, this guy is super, he is a leader and will be huge on the 4th line as he knows his role on this team.

One player that stood out for me that I didn’t expect was RW Logan Shaw. His speed and puck pursuit was noticeable all game long and head coach DJ Smith singled him out in his pre-game comments tonight saying how he was impressed with him since camp opened. Shaw is definitely a player to watch as the pre-season unfolds.

I thought the defence pairing of Lassi Thomson and Erik Brannstrom looked really good together. In fact, Thomson was the better of the two in my eyes. His gap control and decision making were terrific and I thought he was the best defenseman for Ottawa tonight. Although many experts say he needs another year in the AHL, Thomson has definitely progressed nicely from last year. It will be interesting to see if he can make an impression on the coaching staff this pre-season. Brannstrom did score a nice shootout winner(yes they do a shootout in pre-season regardless of the result) and has had a strong camp to date.

Lastly, the goaltending was strong tonight for the Senators. Ottawa is going to need great goaltending this season if they want to contend a playoff spot. Anton Forsberg did allow a weak goal on the Jets 2nd goal but otherwise was very good in goal. Filip Gustavsson didn’t allow any goals after coming on mid 2nd period and truly picked up where he left off last season.

I look forward to a solid discussion from the first preseason game.
Thanks for reading.
Kevin

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