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Senators Extend Losing Streak to Eight |
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The Ottawa Senators were not particularly good on Tuesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, but managed to jump out to an early lead and salvage a point in what was otherwise an underwhelming game. With the overtime loss, the Senators have now lost eight straight games, and boast a 1-4-5 record in their last ten appearances.
Here are tonight’s thumbs:
Thumbs Down: The Loser Point
Compiling a 1-4-5 record over the course of a ten-game stretch is difficult to do. The five loser points, in particular, signal that luck just hasn’t been on Ottawa’s side for the better part of the last month. Those five points are the difference between Ottawa being comfortably in 30th place, with Detroit still in sight, and being clumped with teams like the Ducks, Devils, and Kings in the race for draft lottery odds. It’s nice to see competitive hockey, but some breathing room in the reverse standings would also be appreciated.
Thumbs Down: The Second Period Letdown
The Senators didn’t look all that great during the first period of Tuesday’s game, but they earned themselves a 2-0 lead thanks to Connor Brown’s eighth of the season and Chris Tierney’s seventh. That work was immediately tossed aside with a woefully underwhelming middle frame, in which the Senators were thoroughly outplayed by the Blackhawks.
Chicago only managed to get one goal in that second period, Dominik Kubalik’s first of two on the night, but it set the stage for their third period and overtime comeback. As evidence, consider that Natural Stat Trick had the Senators generating less than 30% of the five-on-five expected goals in the second. It wasn’t good enough.
Thumbs Up: Goalie of the Future?
While his .900 save percentage on the night may not look all that impressive, I thought Marcus Hogberg was once again quite good for the Senators. With Craig Anderson struggling, Hogberg received his third straight start for the team and gave them a chance to win. He made a number of key saves during the game, including this late one to keep the game tied:
Hogberg’s record this year doesn’t suggest it, but he’s shown a lot of promise since being called up to the big club. Most fans seem more than comfortable with the idea of an Anders Nilsson/Hogberg tandem in net next season.
Thumbs Up: The Reilly-DeMelo Pairing
The Senators generated nearly 63% of the five-on-five expected goals when Dylan DeMelo and Mike Reilly were on the ice, per Natural Stat Trick. It shouldn’t surprise frequent readers of this blog to see that. DeMelo is a wizard. It’s good to have him back.
Thumbs Down: Anthony Duclair… again
Anthony Duclair is really struggling right now. Natural Stat Trick had the Senators generating 22% of the five-on-five shot attempts and 14% of the five-on-five expected goals when he was on the ice. There wasn’t much to like about his game, with the exception of this great chance to break his goalless streak:
Mike Johnson had an interesting note on the broadcast when discussing Duclair’s recent woes, identifying that he isn’t shooting the puck nearly as often as he was when he was having success. Nobody expected him to stay as hot as he was during November/December, but I’m not sure anybody expected his play to drop off quite like it has recently.
It brings up an interesting question or two for Pierre Dorion: Is the team still comfortable with the idea of signing him to a healthy extension? When he was scoring at a crazy rate, people were talking about a deal in the $5-6M range. Is that still something that makes sense, or was the absurd success just a mirage? What kind of player is Anthony Duclair long-term? Plenty of unanswered questions remain.
Thumbs Up: Connor Brown’s Two-Point Night
Connor Brown is having one of the quietest on-pace-for-nearly-50-points seasons I can remember from any player in recent years. He’s been supremely effective for the Senators despite the lack of attention that gets placed on him. He was rewarded on Tuesday with a goal and an assist.
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With the losing streak now at eight, the Senators have a chance to make it nine when the Vegas Golden Knights come to down on Thursday. They’ll then face the Calgary Flames prior to the all-star break.
As always, thanks for reading.
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