So up against a "truculent" Leafs team back-stopped by a rookie goalie, the Senators managed to score two: one ugly high-sticked goal, and one penalty shot goal.The high-stick was ugly. I sure hope that it was clearer in HD, because I couldn't follow the puck through those replays one bit. I said while it was "under review" that I wouldn't be upset if it was called back. But it ended up counting, so onward we go.
The penalty shot was another iffy call (check out Why Have A Rulebook? for all the angle-shot details), and I agree that it should have been two 2-minutes instead of a penalty shot and two minutes... but crowd favorite Alfredsson did the business on Michalek's behalf, and again, onward we go.
I've commented before on the poor quality of the ref'ing, and I think that Toronto would be fully justified in being upset about the way the calls went. But for
But back to the game. The Leafs seemed very timid through most of the game; one wondered if they thought that "truculence" was a reference to someone's truck. There was not very much smash and grab on the ice at all -- well Volchenkov's smash excepted, of course.
The Senator's defensive discipline was better this time out. Again the PK did well, only being beaten once. I thought the game was played well, limiting the number of chances served up, and LeClaire coming up with the big saves when he needed to.
I find this goalie growing on me the more I watch him. Nothing builds confidence like actually doing what needs to be done. I don't think he'll be any better if the team just hangs him out to dry like they did so often with Gerber, but while the team is intact in front of him, he's building a good track record of reliability.
No, my concern comes from the opposite end of the ice. Through two games, we've scored four goals, only one of which can count as a "quality" chance -- Spezza feeding Alfredsson in New York. Ugly scrambles in front of the net are a fact of life, but the goals are not pretty. I like pretty, but it looks like I'm going to have to settle for ugly.
If anything, the offence was better in New York than it was in Toronto. To my eye, there were more quality chances available in New York, and it was mostly Lundqvist's play that kept the Rangers ahead. Had some of those chances gone in, the momentum would probably have swung the other way and the result would have been different.
But still, the team has generated very little in terms of offense so far.
It is early days, yes. But I think more was expected against a Toronto team which is not expected to feature in the playoffs this year.
