As most of you already know, the "hot lap" is a tradition reserved for players making their NHL debuts. Teammates have the player lead the way to the ice from the dressing room for the warmup, and then stand back as he does a solo turn around the rink.
When 24-year old Marcus Hogberg did his hot lap Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre, you had to wonder if the Senators were going to desert their goalie during the game too. That is a customary tradition for this team as well. The Senators entered the night having allowed an average of 37.8 shots on goal per game. I went back as far as the 1970s and could not find a team that had given up so much over the course of a season.
It's possible the Senators are on a record setting pace.
But a funny thing happened in the second of a back-to-back set, against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, no less. The Senators turned in their best defensive performance of the season.
The 24 shots allowed was just the fifth time the Senators held the opposition to less than 30, along with two 27s and a pair of 28s.
Conscientiously, they tightened up in front of the new guy.
"Yeah, that's why it's too bad we gave up the two goals I think we could have avoided," said coach Guy Boucher. "But I think the rest, it was as good as we did defensively this year, for sure.
With the Senators falling to last place in the Eastern Conference on Saturday, the small moral victories might have to do the rest of the way.
Loved this note from the NHL PR department: Capitals defencemen Tyler Lewington and Madison Bowey became the first teammates to score their first NHL goal against a goalie making his NHL debut in 51 years – since Brian Kilrea and Gord Labossiere of the Los Angeles Kings beat Philadelphia's Doug Favell on Oct. 14, 1967 … Playing in his second NHL game, Lewington not only scored his first NHL goal (Alex Ovechkin was joyously throwing the souvenir puck up in the air as he skated it to the bench) but he also recorded an assist and fought Zack Smith. That gave Lewington only one fewer Gordie Howe Hatricks than Gordie Howe had in 1,765 more games …. Capitals goalie Pheonix Copley, who was born in North Pole, AK, played his minor hockey for the Arctic Lions of the Northern Alaskan Hockey League in Fairbanks. Wonders a friend: "There's a Southern Alaskan League?" … Copley has a brother named Navarone. And parents with a sense of humour … The Senators did extend Alex Ovechkin's goal-less drought to five games. The next one The Great Eight scores will be his 30th – and the 14th time he has hit that plateau. Incredible.
The instigator penalty has become a complete joke. You can skate across the ice and throw your gloves down to fight a guy who delivered a clean check to one of your teammates, and there's no instigator tacked on. Then there's what happened to Brady Tkachuk in the second period. Madison Bowey was being called for an illegal check to Tkachuk's head when Tkachuk went after him. Tkachuk was given an instigating minor along with a fighting major and misconduct. But what actually instigated the fight was the check to he head. No wonder Guy Boucher was livid … Tkachuk was so pumped up about finally getting in his second career fight that he waved for the crowd to get up like Chris Neil used to. Nice touch, kid … The most curious of the Senators recent rash of injuries was to Magnus Paajarvi, who Boucher said was hurt during the fight at the end of the Islanders game. Do you remember him fighting? He didn't get a penalty, and hockeyfights.com has no record of Paajarvi ever dropping his gloves.
Ryan Dzingel had an open net in the 19th minute of the first period, with the Senators on the power play and trailing 2-0, but the puck jumped over his stick … Brady Tkachuk was robbed in the first minute of the second period by a great Copley save …. How did Nick Paul's second period deflection off a phenomenal pass by Mikkael Boedker not go in to the net? … Hogberg made a couple of quick leg kick saves to keep Ovechkin off the board with just under seven minutes to go.