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Mark Stone Returns, Leads Golden Knights Past Senators |
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The Ottawa Senators extended their losing streak to nine games on Thursday night with a 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights were full value for their victory in head coach Peter DeBoer’s debut, dominating the Senators through two periods before score effects grabbed hold of the game. The loss pushes Ottawa into 30th place in the standings, 13 points ahead of the (truly horrendous) Red Wings.
Here are Thursday’s thumbs:
Thumbs Up: Mark Stone… Still Good
It’s not often that a player on the opposing team receives a thumbs up, but Mark Stone is the exception to that general rule. The former Senator was fantastic for the Golden Knights, and showcased many of the skills that make him one of the very best and most effective players in the league today.
His return to Ottawa was, quite simply, special. He earned a beautiful give-and-go assist on Paul Stastny’s opener, and then potted a goal of his own with a wraparound attempt in the second period. That tangible output was combined with a five-on-five expected goal share of more than 90%, as per Natural Stat Trick. All in a night’s work for Mark Stone, I suppose. The standing ovation he received was well-deserved.
Thumbs Down: Thomas Chabot’s Mistake
Relative to many of his teammates, Thomas Chabot wasn’t actually all that bad on Thursday night. Sure, the Golden Knights controlled play when he was on the ice, but they did so to less of an extent than when he wasn’t. Unfortunately, all anyone is going to remember of his play from this game is the giveaway that led directly to the 3-0 goal…
He almost deserves a pity assist for that gem.
Thumbs Up: Connor Brown’s Second Straight Two-Point Night
Connor Brown scored his ninth goal of the season and added his 20th assist of the campaign to cap a second straight two-point night in what was his 300th career NHL game. There's a lot of numbers in that sentence - but they're all good!
Brown went through a real cold stretch earlier in the season, but seems to be heating up right now. With 29 points through 47 games, the 26-year-old is now on pace for what would be his first 50-plus point National Hockey League season. Nikita Zaitsev’s contract is certainly bad, but it’s hard to believe that Ottawa was able to nab Brown from the Leafs and dump Cody Ceci at the same time.
Thumbs Up: Craig Anderson Back in Action
I don’t think it’s unfair to suggest that Marcus Hogberg has, at least in recent weeks, been giving the Senators a better chance to win than Craig Anderson. That’s likely why D.J. Smith elected to give Hogberg a run of three straight starts prior to tonight’s game. With that in mind, I was very curious to see how Anderson would fare in his return to action. He wasn’t perfect, but he was far from horrible. The shame of it all is that his night may be defined, much like Chabot’s, by his giveaway that led to Ryan Reaves’ goal.
The bottom line though: He stopped 39 of 43 shots fired his way, which should be enough to get him another shot relatively soon.
Thumbs Down: Anthony Duclair’s Quiet Night
Are people starting to get worried? Anthony Duclair had another quiet night, extending his goalless streak to nine games. And, once again, his five-on-five expected goal share per Natural Stat Trick hovered right around 25%. It’s been a rough few weeks for Mr. December.
It should be noted that Duclair did leave practice yesterday for precautionary reasons, so there is some speculation that he might be playing injured right now. Whether injuries or simple regression are to blame, the Senators find themselves starving for offence without him.
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The Senators will have an opportunity to extend their losing streak to ten before the all-star break, with the Calgary Flames in town for their annual stop on Saturday afternoon.
As always, thanks for reading.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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