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Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: The Blue Line's Future is Now |
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The Ottawa Senators saw Connor Brown’s historic eight-game scoring streak come to a close on Wednesday night, as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Winnipeg Jets. Here are tonight’s thumbs:
Thumbs Up: Matt Murray’s Return
Considering where he was at before getting injured, and the higher-quality goaltending the Senators received in his absence, it’s fair to say that there was a bit of manufactured pressure on Matt Murray to perform tonight. He did what he needed to do. Even though it was clear he was battling rust at times, he stopped most of the shots fired his way and kept his team within striking distance from start to finish. That’s a major win for the team, and for Murray personally. It would be great to see him build on it moving forward.
Thumbs Up: Victor Mete’s Emergence
If tonight was any indication, Victor Mete could have a long future ahead of him in an Ottawa Senators jersey. He was excellent. Beyond the sound underlying numbers he delivered for the team – a nice contrast with the bodies he replaced on the blue line – he *looked* really good. It’s crazy that he was able to still display such confidence walking the offensive blue line, even after being in and out of the lineup in Montreal. It’s a lot more fun watching defenders who can drive play and entertain than it is watching defenders like Braydon Coburn and Erik Gudbranson.
Thumbs Up: Lessons Learned from Victor Mete
DJ Smith, pre-game: “Obviously he lost his confidence in Montreal. When you’re in and out of the lineup, that happens.”
Now let’s hope that Erik Brannstrom stays in the lineup for the rest of the year.
Thumbs Up: Jacob Bernard-Docker’s Debut
Jacob Bernard-Docker looked as comfortable as you could possibly expect any player making his NHL debut to look. That’s especially impressive considering the fact that he wasn’t even supposed to play; it took a Nikita Zaitsev injury to get him into the lineup. The comfort level he displayed resulted in a high degree of trust from the coaching staff, evidenced by the more than 15 minutes of ice time he was given in this debut game. It’s hard to be anything other than excited about what’s to come for this player.
Thumbs Down: Thomas Chabot’s Ice Time
There were moments when Thomas Chabot looked really good tonight, but there were also moments when it was clear that fatigue is catching up to him. The Trevor Lewis shorthanded goal against was a perfect example of him simply running out of gas. With the Senators sitting where they are in the standings, there’s no reason to be double-shifting or simply overplaying Chabot. Cut his minutes to a more reasonable 22-23 per game, and see what players like Brannstrom, JBD, and Mete can do with the rest of the time. Nobody will be mad about it.
Thumbs Down: Connor Brown’s Scoring Streak Ends
It was fun while it lasted. And it lasted a long time.
Thumbs Down: The Officiating
To call it inconsistent would be to understate things severely. And, in the words of Forrest Gump, that’s all I have to say about that.
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The Senators will see the Montreal Canadiens for a matchup on Saturday.
As always, thanks for reading.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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