The Ottawa Senators looked like they were down and out, trailing the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 late in the second period on Monday night. The Ottawa Senators were not, in fact, down and out. A reversal of fortunes in the crease combined with a superb run of offence from the team’s best players led the Senators to an incredibly entertaining 6-5 overtime victory. Here are tonight’s thumbs:

Thumbs Up: This Team Never Gives Up?
In post-game comments, TSN’s Darren Dreger mentioned that this Ottawa Senators team never gives up. The early stories from this season suggest that might not be entirely true, as the Senators had made giving up once behind an unfortunate and frequent habit of theirs. Tonight, though, it was completely true. The Senators didn’t give up. The result of not giving up was one of the most entertaining nights of Senators hockey in recent memory.

Thumbs Down: Marcus Hogberg’s Start
He wasn’t getting a lot of help from the guys in front of him early on in Monday’s game – the Senators were giving up odd-man rushes and clean looks in the slot like Halloween candy – but it still would have been nice to see Marcus Hogberg give the team a save or two. After such a phenomenal performance against the Jets, Hogberg reverted back to unfortunate form in the first and second period tonight.

Thumbs Up: Marcus Hogberg’s Finish
Thankfully, the first and second periods weren’t the full story for Hogberg on this occasion. Whatever he said to himself during the second intermission worked like a charm – he was phenomenal in the third and overtime, stopping all 14 shots the Maple Leafs fired his way. Once the Senators offence started clicking, the saves he was making were what allowed the seeds of a comeback to sprout in a major way. Give him full credit for shifting the narrative in this game.

Thumbs Up: Drake Batherson Earns a Reward
Few players have been deserving of more but received less than Drake Batherson this season. Perhaps his goal tonight reverses that trend and sees him hit the scoresheet moving forward with the frequency his play warrants. The recipient of a slick Tim Stützle feed, Batherson back-handed the puck past the Toronto netminder for his second of the season.

Thumbs Up: Artem Zub’s First Career Goal
You could probably count on one hand how many defenders in the last 20 years have had first career goals more impressive than Artem Zub’s tonight. Sprung on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box, Zub made a beautiful deke to slide the puck behind Frederik Andersen.

Thumbs Up: Nick Paul’s Monster Night
From my perspective, Nick Paul looked excellent out there tonight. He was credited with a shorthanded goal late in the second period to make it a 5-2 game – setting up the comeback – and an assist on the overtime winner. Beyond that, though, he was consistently moving his feet and the puck in the right direction. He can do a little bit of everything for this Senators squad, and has quickly become one of the team’s more effective all-around performers.

Thumbs Down: Derek Stepan’s Night
On the other end of the spectrum, Derek Stepan really struggled this evening. Given ample opportunity to play with the team’s most talented young players, Stepan did little other than drag them down. He’s simply not fast enough to keep up with a team like the Maple Leafs, which in turn makes it difficult for him to anchor a line that can spend extended time in the offensive zone. The Maple Leafs feasted when he was on the ice.

The bigger problem for the Senators with respect to Stepan tonight was effort. His play on Auston Matthews’ 5-1 goal was embarrassing, as he allowed the Toronto man-advantage unit to break into the zone, move the puck through the slot, and create a scoring chance all without taking a single stride. Not one stride. He looked completely disconnected and disinterested. Considering the storyline on acquiring him was about “veteran leadership” and “setting the right example,” things like that are especially disappointing.

Thumbs Up: Evgenii Dadonov’s Continued Success
Two more goals tonight for Evgenii Dadonov, including the overtime winner. That gives him six goals in 17 games this season, which is a 29-goal pace over the course of a full 82-game season. After a woefully slow start to the year, he has really heated up recently. The best part tonight is that his two goals were matched with stellar underlying numbers, with both his five-on-five shot attempt and expected goal shares being very positive relative to his teammates. This is the player the Senators thought they were acquiring this summer.

Thumbs Up: Entertainment Value
Were you not entertained?

Thumbs Up: A Kind Blogger
I could have gone with "It was 5-1" as a blog title, but I didn't. Out of kindness.

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The Senators will look to extend their winning streak on Wednesday, when they’ll have an opportunity to take on these same Maple Leafs.

As always, thanks for reading.

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