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Pageau, Chabot, and Hogberg Shine, Senators Fall to Flames |
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The Calgary Flames were widely viewed as a Western Conference contender heading into the 2019-20 campaign, which makes the fact that they sit outside the playoff picture on December 1 a little bit shocking. Even with their struggles to start the year, the Flames posed a tough challenge for the Ottawa Senators on the second night of a back-to-back set. While the end result was another “L” in the standings, the Senators once again hung around against a team with a much more talented, mature roster. That’s a win for a rebuilding team in my books.
Here are last night’s thumbs:
Thumbs Up: Marcus Hogberg’s Season Debut
Five games into his NHL career, Hogberg is still looking for his first win. His four-game cup of coffee last season didn’t do much to inspire the masses – perhaps with the exception of his 41-save loss to the Vancouver Canucks – but last night certainly did.
Allowing only two goals on 26 shots faced, Hogberg did what he needed to do to keep the Senators in the game. His style is a little bit unorthodox, and his rebound control was a little bit messy last night, but appearances aside he got the job done. He was certainly deserving of his first career win; if he can perform like this in future starts, it won’t take long for that to come.
Thumbs Down: Artem Anisimov
After more than three weeks away, Anisimov made his return to the lineup on Friday against the Minnesota Wild. It’s a little bit unfair to criticize a guy fresh off the sidelines, but it’s not as though his play early in the season warranted great praise either. His play last night resulted in a lot of dead minutes:
Most concerning, though, is the impact he had on two guys who have actually been really good for the Senators this year. He played most of his five-on-five minutes with Anthony Duclair and Vladislav Namestnikov. They were pummeled in terms of shot attempts against while on the ice together. The expected goal numbers for the trio look decent enough, but that’s largely attributable to Duclair doing a lot of work to create something out of nothing.
The confusing thing about pairing Duclair and Namestnikov with Anisimov is that there were clearly better options available. Logan Brown was scratched… because it was the second night of a back-to-back?
Thumbs Up: J-G Pageau & Co.
They get tasked with the toughest minutes, and they continue to do a fantastic job with it. According to Natural Stat Trick, Pageau, Nick Paul, and Connor Brown controlled 60% of the five-on-five shot attempts and generated more than 50% of the five-on-five expected goals when on the ice. Considering that they were tasked with going up against Elias Lindholm, Johnny Gaudreau, and Sean Monahan for most of the night, those numbers are overwhelmingly positive. Pageau even found a way to score his 14th goal of the season in the middle of all the festivities.
Thumbs Up: Thomas Chabot
It’s becoming a trend – Thomas Chabot had a really, really strong night. More and more he’s looking like the player that Ottawa signed to a $64M extension earlier this year. Playing primarily with Dylan DeMelo at five-on-five, Chabot controlled nearly 60% of the shot attempts and helped the Senators generate nearly 70% of the expected goals. This, again, while facing players like Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm in most of those minutes.
Of particular note with respect to Chabot and last night’s game is the fact that he split time between DeMelo and Zaitsev. The contrast in performance is striking:
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The Senators’ schedule doesn’t get any easier, as December begins with a set of road back-to-back games in Vancouver and Edmonton.
As always, thanks for reading!
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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