You can follow me on Twitter @ShackTS
Think Tank is back!
Bobby Ryan returning
Ryan has missed the last three games with a concussion, so getting him back for Friday’s game must mean it was a mild one:
From what I could find, this was the first concussion of his career, so it’s not surprising that all it took was a week of rest for him to get back to full health. Ryan is nowhere near as good as he once was, but he is still better than the other depth options the Senators have in the lineup, so he will be a welcomed addition. Now we wait for more updates on Matt Duchene’s injury...
Historic streak for Tom Pyatt
I was interested in the list for this on Monday, so I looked up the most games played by a Senators forward in a single season without scoring a goal. Pyatt has yet to score a goal this season and only has two assists, meaning he sits 7th on this all-time list (32 GP now instead of 31):
It took him 17 games to be on the ice for a single goal for, but he has yet to score a goal himself. In fact, he went goal-less for the final 13 games of last season too, so in total, he has gone 45 games without a goal. He still has a ways to go to get to the all-time worst season by Bill Muckalt, but he’s very close to cracking the top-4, and he might even get to second.
Curtis Lazar’s 16-17 season felt similar to what Pyatt is going through, but at least the excuse for keeping him in the lineup was that he was young and theoretically had potential. Pyatt is 31 years old and the only game he has missed in the past two and a half seasons is due to illness---zero times has he been a healthy scratch. It’ll be incredible to see how long Boucher will keep him in the lineup while staying on zero goals.
Lajoie, Jaros here to stay
Pierre Dorion talked to B-Sens play-by-play man Jack Miller yesterday, and he said that Max Lajoie and Christian Jaros (as well as Brady Tkachuk obviously) have been told they will be staying with the team:
I found that a bit surprising, especially for Jaros. The right side on defense is pretty thin, so perhaps there aren’t enough good reasons to send him back to Belleville anyway. Lajoie turned heads during his first few games in Ottawa, but he has really struggled at points since then while playing with Cody Ceci. I still think that Christian Wolanin will end up being the better player and he very well could be the better option right now. But I suppose Lajoie has impressed Dorion enough that he won’t be needing to stay in Belleville ever again.
I wouldn’t say either one of them have proven themselves to be top-four defensemen just yet, but with the state of the Senators blueline, they certainly have authority to claim a spot.
Batherson’s concerning numbers
Batherson was phenomenal in the AHL to begin the year and had a blistering start to his NHL career as well. However, much like Max Lajoie, he has dramatically faded since his first few games. What’s more discouraging is that his shot numbers are dreadful. He sits last on the team with a 32.61% corsi, and every other metric is well below 50% as well. In 14 games, he has only had positive possession numbers once, with the margins in other games being astronomically high.
I still think he is going to be a solid NHL player because it’s rare to be that good in the AHL and simply be nothing at the next level. However, if this trend continues, perhaps it’d be good to send him back to get his confidence back. There’s no rush to keep him in Ottawa, plus someone like Rudolfs Balcers can get a shot in the top-nine too. I wouldn’t send Batherson down just yet, but it’s impossible to ignore those horrific possession numbers.
Formenton injured?
In an exhibition game for the World Juniors, it looked like Alex Formenton might have been injured on this play:
There haven’t been any details since then besides that trainers were tending to him immediately after. Hockey Canada Program Director Shawn Bullock said that they would know more today, so perhaps there will be an update at any moment. Formenton was a lock to make Team Canada for the World Junior’s, so if this is a long-term injury then that is obviously a blow to the team and also a bummer for Senators fans who don’t have that many prospects to watch during this tournament. Hopefully he will be out for two weeks or less.
Bernard-Docker becoming a standout
Ottawa’s second 2018 first-rounder Jacob Bernard-Docker has gotten off to quite the start at the University of North Dakota. He has 10 points in 17 games, which looks solid without context, but looks even better when you realize that puts him tied for second place in points on the team, and just one back of the team lead. He isn’t a freshman forward either, he is a defenseman.
He and fellow Senators prospect Johnny Tychonick are only two of three 18-year-olds on the team, with Bernard-Docker having by far the biggest impact. In fact, amongst freshmen defensemen in the NCAA, he ranks second in points. Even if you include forwards in there, he is tied for fourth. Tychonick has been scratched for three games and hasn’t gotten quite as much trust from the coaching staff just yet, but seeing Bernard-Docker be this good is encouraging. I’m still high on Tychonick as a prospect, but now JBD has risen above him for the time being.
He is on the bubble (but unlikely) to make Team Canada for the World Juniors. I really hope he makes it so that we get to see more goals like this from him:
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»