Bunda’s Friday 5 Lists of 5 is a new weekly column that will consist of 5 different lists with 5 points in each, revolving around the Ottawa Senators. Topics will change from time to time depending on the week, but no matter what, there will always be 5 lists of 5. This week there will be grades, stats, goals, quotes and questions from the last 7 days in Sens Land. Let’s get to it!
5 Grades
I’ll play teacher and grade 5 things that happened with the Ottawa Senators in this list. Grades can vary between A+ to F, depending on what happened in the last 7 days.
–Sens Holding Connor McDavid Pointless: McDavid torched the Sens last year, scoring 4 goals and tallying 21 points in 9 games last season. Keeping him off the scoresheet and a -2 on the evening is a huge reason the Sens won that game. Grade: A+.
-Erik Brannstrom Establishing Himself: Brannstrom has taken a lot of criticism for not already being a regular top 4 defenceman. Since the team returned to play on January 13th, Brannstrom has impressed in every single outing. DJ Smith has given him more ice time in each game, and you can tell his confidence has grown substantially. He had an excellent assist on Josh Norris’ 2nd goal last night, and his offensive instincts really open up the game for the forwards. Grade: A.
–DJ Smith Not Calling A Timeout Vs Buffalo: Ottawa had an offensive zone face-off on the power play with 2:07 remaining in the game, down by 1 goal. DJ elected to keep Forsberg in the net and not take a time-out. Eventually, Alex Tuch would score an empty netter, and the game was over. Mind-boggling. Grade: F.
-Sens Stat About Not Winning In Pittsburgh Since 2014: If you were watching the Penguins game last night, there’s a stat that was brought up about the Sens not winning in Pittsburgh since April 13th, 2014. While that may be true for the regular season, Ottawa beat the Penguins 2-1 in OT back in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. Something tells me that a playoff win should count? Grade: D.
-Matt Murray Sick, Again: Just when Sens fans start to praise Murray for stringing together a pair of wins, his first 2 of the season, the momentum is halted once again. This has happened multiple times now, and even though we’re living in a Covid world, it’s still frustrating for the fans. I’m hoping he can pick things up from where he left off when he returns. Grade: D.
5 Stats
Here I will focus on 5 stats and milestones for the Senators.
- Josh Norris Chasing Down Yashin: Norris buried 2 more goals last night and is up to 35 in his career. He’s 4 behind Alexei Yashins’ Sens record (39) of most goals in a player’s first 100 games. Norris is at 91 games, so there’s plenty of race track left for him to catch the former captain.
- Tim Stützle 3 Points Shy of 50. Stützle scored his 6th goal of the season last night and currently has a 3 game point streak going. With 4 games this week, the sophomore forward will likely reach that mark.
- Drake Batherson 4 Game Point Streak: After being held scoreless for 3 games, Batherson is on a 4 game streak (3 goals, 1 assist) and continues to lead the team with 33 points in 28 games. The 23-year-old forward will be going to Vegas for his first All-Star game on February 5th.
- Sens Top Line with 45% Of The Teams Goals: Ottawa’s top line of Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson has scored 42 of the teams 93 goals on the season. Norris leads the way with a team-high 18, while Tkachuk and Batherson are tied with 12 each.
- Sens 0-2 When Registering Season High In Shots: Ottawa registered a season-high 44 shots against the Sabres in their 3-1 loss on Tuesday. Their previous high was 39 in a 5-1 defeat to Vegas on November 4th.
5 Goals Of The Week
Ottawa scored 11 goals in their 3 games this week. Here are the most notable ones.
- Artem Zub Snipe vs Oilers: It was Artem ZUUUUUUUBB giving the Sens the lead on his laser of a shot in the 3rd period, making it 4-3 for Ottawa.
- Josh Norris Game Winner Vs Edmonton: Norris ripped home his 2nd goal of the game on the power play against the Oilers, helping complete the 6-4 comeback win.
- Drake Batherson Roofs It Vs Sabres: Batherson scored his 11th of the season after collecting his rebound and roofing it on Houser.
- Tim Stützle Puts Home The Rebound: “Jimmy Stu” kick-started a wild 3rd period last night with his 6th goal of the season against the Penguins.
- Norris Finishes The Brannstrom Feed: Josh Norris put home his 2nd goal of the game and 18th of the season after Brannstrom fed it to him on a platter.
5 Quotes & Soundbites
These are the best soundbites or quotes from the week with the Senators.
- Josh Norris On Watson’s Head Size (37-second mark): “Watty’s got a peanut head; it’s probably the smallest head on the team.”
- Brady Tkachuk On Having To Play Over 50 Games In Around 100 Days (3:00): “It’s a good time to get hot.”
- Connor McDavid On Blowing Their 3-1 Lead to the Sens: “I’m not sure what to tell ya….”
- Thomas Chabot On Playing In An Empty Rink At Home (2:00): “We miss our fans a lot.”
- DJ Smith On Nick Paul’s 200th Game (3:50): “He’s just a good guy and really good story for us.”
5 Questions
I’ll ask 5 questions that we’ll have the answers to in the next 7 days with the Ottawa Senators.
- Who will start next: Matt Murray or Filip Gustavsson?
- Will Erik Brannstrom continue to get more ice time
- Will Jacob Bernard-Docker play in all 4 games this week?
- Has Anton Forsberg’s magic run out?
- Can Matt Murray pick up where he left off?
By Steve Bunda