-Ottawa won its second game in a row beating the Islanders 3-1 despite being outplayed. Craig Anderson was excellent in the win (he made 37 saves), while Colin Greening, Andre Benoit (his first ever), and David Dziurzynski (also his first ever) scored the goals. Mika Zibanejad played the least among forwards, while Eric Gryba wound up playing 20 minutes on the back end. It was Derek Grant‘s best game as a Senator, although that’s not saying much. Here’s the boxscore. Scott had the scoring chances 13/20.
–Paul MacLean talked about the win:
We scored three goals. We’ve played way better and scored no goals. I didn’t think we played particularly great throughout the game. I thought they were harder on the puck and better in a lot of areas. Our goaltender was a big part of it.
I have to agree with MacLean’s sentiment is yesterday’s game was one of the worst the Sens have played.
-There was collective scratching of heads when David Dziurzynski was recalled, but since he put on the Sens uniform he’s looked like he belongs. I think he’s a good fit with Zack Smith and Chris Neil as opposed to Greening; the latter does throw hits, but he’s not really an aggressive player, whereas Dziurzynski plays the greasy kind of game that fits his linemates. Whether he can remain consistent is an open question.
–Ben Bishop and Jakob Silfverberg talked about the Swede’s shot:
It’s one of the best releases I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen him do it 10 times in the American (Hockey) League. He makes goalies look stupid. A lot of times he puts it in between your face and glove, so you can’t even get it, really. The thing is, you can know it’s coming and he’ll still score. That’s how good it is. The only way is if the goalie is just completely cheating and he just holds (his glove) up there.
I like taking slap shots as well, but you don’t have time over here. You’ve got to shoot quick. You can’t really lock and load. You’ve just got to get it on your stick then put it away. I like taking slap shots as well, but you don’t really have time. I had one coach when I was about 15 that told me to get a sweet spot, somewhere you pretty much know that you can always shoot. So if you get the puck you don’t always have to look at the net. You just know that’s the spot where you have it, and that’s where I put it. That’s what I’ve been working on, to have that spot. So if I get the puck I just shoot it, I don’t really have to aim it.
–Marc Cheverie has been sent down to Elmira, meaning that Nathan Lawson is now healthy.
-Here is the latest prospect update (for players with more than 10 games played I’ve indicated where they are in scoring; for blueliners they are compared to other defensemen on the team):
CHL
Cody Ceci (OHL Ottawa/Owen Sound) 59-15-38-53 (1st)
Matt Puempel (OHL Kitchener) 41-27-9-36 (3rd)
Stefan Noesen (OHL Plymouth) 40-21-17-38 (5th)
Jordan Fransoo (WHL Victoria) 54-4-13-17 (3rd)
Jakub Culek (QMJHL Cape Breton) 9-4-3-7 (10th) (injured)
Jarrod Maidens (OHL Owen Sound) (injured)
Chris Driedger (WHL Calgary) 29-13-3 2.42 .919
Francois Brassard (QMJHL Quebec) 26-17-3 2.87 .904
Allsvenskan (Swe)
Mikael Wikstrand (Mora) 40-11-11-22 (1st) WJC 6-0-4-4 (1st)
KHL
Nikita Filatov (Salavat) 47-10-11-21 (6th)
NCAA
Ryan Dzingel (Ohio) – 32-13-17-30 (1st)
Jeff Costello (Notre Dame) – 24-8-15-23 (4th)
Max McCormick (Ohio) – 32-9-12-21 (3rd)
Bryce Aneloski (Nebraska-Omaha) – 31-4-15-19 (2nd)
Michael Sdao (Princeton) – 25-7-6-13 (1st)
Tim Boyle (Union) – 14-0-2-2 (7th)
USHL
Robbie Baillargeon (Indiana/Omaha) – 46-16-20-36 (1st)
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
eyeonthesens 