The Senators got off to a great start, a suspect middle stanza and finally closed strong in their season opener in Detroit, which is sort of what you'd expect with this sort of team. Sens fans take note, this is what most of the season may look like. We have the ability to compete at times and even look good, but we don't have the depth or experience to keep it up for 60 minutes.
The Senators who were nowhere close to the Red Wings in the talent department started very strong. Their pace and overall game was amazing for the first 10mins plus, until the Wings sprung Todd Burtuzzi on a breakaway late in the first on a very sloppy and lazy line change by the Senators. Sergei Gonchar in particular looked uninterested in skating to mend the error.
The 2nd period is where it got rough. The Sens looked completely over matched and overwhelmed and had a lot of trouble trying to manufacture any sort of offence, which will be an ongoing theme this season. The Sens were down 4-0 after the middle frame and it looked like the start of a long season, but they picked it up late in the third.
They managed to make it respectable, scoring 3 in the 3rd to make it a 5-3 final, but it was clear we were teams going in different directions, despite the score. The Sens did what they could, but just aren't that good yet. It will be a long season, but one full of rewards of watching players progress over the 82 games.
Overall a solid effort against a team much better than us. The Sens hope to rebound against the Leafs tomorrow, a team more at our level. Let's hope we get a better result.
Notable Notes:
- Nikita Filatov recorded his first point as a Senator with an assist on the first Michalek goal
- Rookie Mika Zibanejad registered his first career NHL point on the Kuba goal. Congrats!
Thoughts on the first game of the season?