If this season is any indication, the Edmonton Oilers are to the Ottawa Senators what kryptonite is to Superman. Unlike in most of their meetings this year, though, Ottawa deserved much better than the loss they suffered in tonight’s game. Here are the thumbs:

Thumbs Up: The Process
This was an incredibly well played game from the Senators. They were the better team in all three periods, but simply couldn’t get the puck past Mike Smith with any degree of regularity. Given that Ottawa is already out of the playoff picture, losses like this are basically wins; the process was great, and they managed to help themselves in the draft lottery standings.

Thumbs Up: A Monster Night from Thomas Chabot
If you were to ask me who the best player on the ice was tonight, I wouldn’t hesitate to answer with Thomas Chabot. This was a monster game from him; he controlled things at both ends of the ice, helping the Senators to generate chances in the o-zone and limit them in his own zone. When he’s on, he’s as good as anyone in the league. The numbers match the eye test, with Natural Stat Trick showing Chabot as having generated an expected goal share of 75%.

The one note of concern again, unfortunately, is ice time. Chabot played 32:24 tonight. While he was so, so good from start to finish in this game, recent weeks have shown what fatigue does to him. If we want to see this version of Thomas Chabot more often, he can’t be playing north of 30 minutes regularly. It worked tonight, but it won’t work in the long-term.

Thumbs Down: Erik Brannstrom’s Role
On that note, what’s the plan with Erik Brannstrom? Can anyone provide an answer to that question? If you are looking at things from a thousand feet, it really doesn’t feel like there is one. He barely cracked ten minutes tonight, and didn’t get a sniff of power play time on a night when the man advantage’s silence was a difference in the game. Help me understand.

Thumbs Up: Anton Forsberg Giving a Chance to Win
He wasn’t overly busy, but he gave the team a chance to win. He made a few key saves to keep the game close, including one particularly memorable stop on Gaetan Haas. When the Senators get goaltending, they are more often than not a reasonably competitive team.

Thumbs Up: Tim Stützle’s Performance
Even though he didn’t show up on the scoresheet, I thought this was a phenomenal game for Tim Stützle. Sure, he gave the puck away to create the Gaetan Haas chance mentioned above, but he was also doing a whole ton for the Senators in the offensive zone. He’s electric. He’s worth the price of figurative admission. Tonight, beyond creating memorable opportunities for the team, he was also a strong contributor in the underlying numbers department. It was a really complete game for him.

Thumbs Up: Connor Brown Stays Scorching
For a sixth straight game, Connor Brown lit the lamp. That goal prevented the Senators from being shut out, which keeps an absurd streak alive:

The Capitals were shut out tonight for the first time this season.

That leaves the Senators as the only team in the NHL that has not been shut out this season.

— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) April 7, 2021

Brown was more than deserving of his goal tonight, as he did a great job from start to finish in driving play for the team. He’s a perfect middle-six fit for this franchise, especially when he plays like he did in this game.

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The Senators will see the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.

As always, thanks for reading.

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