10/22/09 - Nashville at Ottawa: W 6-5 OT

I was only able to catch the third period of last night’s game and wow. Talk about a 20 minute roller coaster ride. Not having a full 60 minutes to really critique the boys' performance leaves me lacking in the game recap-ness of it all but I can comment on a few things I did notice from that period and yes, even some of the highlights.

I think Joel Ward is finally hitting his stride. He is an aggressive skater and much faster than people might notice at first. I was impressed with his ability to maneuver around opposing players and keep his eye on the puck as he broke into the Ottawa zone. Based on what I saw last night, Ward could be in for a fantastic season if he keeps this up.

Pekka still has some weaknesses to tweak. The Michalek goal that went in up and over his shoulder is nothing new. He had similar problems with that particular move last season. And his decision to leave the net instead of letting our defense pick up the puck from behind the crease in those final crucial seconds in the third was painful to watch. But the saying goes “you live and learn” so I’m sure he won’t be so quick to do that again.

Surprisingly (to me, anyway), the Dumont-O’Reilly-Ward line seemed to be firing on all cylinders. The passes they were pulling off were almost unbelievable and left me wondering if I was watching the right game. Should Trotz keep to some of the same line combinations that played last night, I am expecting to see some good things from this line in the future.

I don’t like that the boys gave up a 3-0 lead so easily. It’s almost as if they played two periods and went into the locker room at the second intermission thinking they had it in the bag. Instead of playing to keep the lead and win the game, they played sloppy, overconfident hockey and Ottawa capitalized on that to the tune of FIVE FREAKING GOALS in one period. This is not a trend I wish to see continue.

Yes, we won finally won another game but man, oh man did we take the long way around to get it.