After a lackluster performance in their last outing, the Ottawa Senators responded with a very well-played hockey game tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. The result was a 6-3 victory built on the back of hard work, timely offensive contributions, and generally solid goaltending from Anton Forsberg. It was a complete team victory. Here are tonight’s thumbs:

Thumbs Up: Thomas Chabot’s Ice Time and Performance
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Thomas Chabot looked as good as he has in a long while, playing significantly fewer minutes than the 30-plus we’re used to seeing from him. He was on the ice for 23:54 tonight, and looked every bit like a franchise defenceman on most of his shifts. The two assists he contributed, on Brady Tkachuk’s 1-0 goal and Evgenii Dadonov’s 3-2 goal, were just icing on the cake. He controlled this game.

Thumbs Up: Artem Anisimov’s Offensive Contributions
Who needs a franchise number-one centre when you have… Artem Anisimov? Fresh off clearing waivers, Anisimov stepped in and delivered three assists tonight, playing a major role in the victory. His patient cycle work on the 4-2 goal was particularly impressive from someone quite literally fighting for a job at this level. While his underlying numbers per Natural Stat Trick were less than impressive, that kind of production typically speaks a lot louder. It did tonight.

Perhaps most importantly for Ottawa, Anisimov’s spark lit a fire from Evgenii Dadonov. There have been too many nights where Dadonov has turned in his minutes quietly; this wasn’t one of them. His two goals, the 10th and 11th of his season, were what Ottawa was looking for when they committed big money to him in the offseason.

Thumbs Up: Brady Tkachuk’s Monster Night
With the way he’s played this season, Brady Tkachuk has all but answered the question of who should be the next Captain of the Ottawa Senators. Tonight was a perfect example of everything that makes him the leader on this team. Not only did he score the opening goal, but he battled from puck drop to the final buzzer like nobody else on the ice. His willingness to back up his peskiness by dropping his gloves, combined with his offensive effectiveness, make him one of the league’s most unique high-level talents.

Thumbs Down: The Brannstrom Conundrum
DJ Smith’s pre-game excuse for sitting Erik Brannstrom in favor of names like Braydon Coburn and Erik Gudbranson was that he felt they were the guys who could help the team win the game. Sadly, he was right. We may never see Brannstrom again. This lineup purgatory for Brannstrom, where he sits with Ottawa instead of playing either in the AHL or NHL, is downright confusing.

Even if you’re (wrongly) of the belief that Coburn and Gudbranson give the Senators more than Brannstrom in the short-term, there’s a bigger organizational picture at play here. This is the prize piece recovered in the trade that sent one of the league’s absolute best wingers out of town. There needs to be a full-scale organizational push to make sure that Erik Brannstrom succeeds, even if that might fly in the face of the coach’s “earn it” mantra at times. Right now, it doesn’t even seem like there’s a coherent plan.

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The Senators will take on the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.

As always, thanks for reading.

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