–Robin Lehner talked about his first career NHL shutout, “Obviously, it’s not as big as last year for me (when he won the AHL MVP during the Binghamton Senators run to the Calder Cup title), there were some records for my country and the organization for being so young, but it’s up there. I think the first two periods were hard for me, too. I had to stand around for a bit. They still had pretty good chances when they got them. I think the D helped me a lot, to see the puck and take away rebounds. I think we had a real good team game today.”
-Paul MacLean didn’t like the Sens third period, but was happy with the win, “They’re still a real good team and still have a little ways to go. But we’re real pleased we were able to come in here, a tough building, and find a way to win the game. Getting a shutout just makes it better. I thought we didn’t play real great in the third period, but we found a way to stay on the inside and not give up too many second or third opportunities. Penalty killing did a good job of keeping that at bay. For the most part, it was a pretty solid effor from our team, from start to finish.”
–Scott Burnside looks at Ottawa’s success thus far this season, but only goes skin deep in talking about the culture change under Paul MacLean and the contributions of Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza.
–TSN and Sports Illustrated‘s power rankings are out with Ottawa 12th and 15th
–Peter Raaymakers worries about Robin Lehner, fearing his mediocre pro numbers are a result of complacency. He points to Barry Brust taking over the starters mantel last year and Mike McKenna‘s superior numbers this year. It’s interesting food for thought, but Raaymakers is drawing the wrong conclusion from the numbers. The reason Lehner hasn’t dominated consistently is because he’s young. Jacob Markstrom, who is supposed to be a better prospect than Lehner, has had similar problems–and so do most young goaltenders. I have absolutely no concerns about Lehner being a starting goaltender in the NHL if he can stay healthy.
eyeonthesens 