The Senators' power play ran hot and cold Thursday night but the club continues to play much better hockey.
On Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre, the Senators extended their point streak to five games in a heart-wrenching 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins.
Here are my three takeaways from the game.
1. They held strong against the best team in the league
The Senators have only won 11 games this season against teams over .500. Against the Bruins, a team tied for the best team in the league, the Senators were able to outshoot them, 37 to 23. Meanwhile, the Senators only gave up four high-danger chances and were the better team 5 on 5. The Sens showed they could compete against one of the best teams in the league, and it hasn't been like that very often this season.
2. Special teams: Good, bad, and ugly
The Senators were sloppy, disjointed, and indecisive in their first four powerplays to start the game. But then Thomas Chabot and Vladimir Tarasenko scored on the final two powerplays to tie the game and earn the Senators a point. The special teams looked awful at the start, and then great to end the game. That will be something to follow, as interim head coach Jacques Martin has put a significant emphasis on fixing Ottawa's special teams.
3. Comebacks and resilience
The word used by the Senators after the game was "resilience." In the past four games, they've rallied against Winnipeg (OTL), then came back from a two-goal deficit against Philadelphia (win) and Boston (OTL).
The Senators bent but didn't break, something they've been unable to do until this recent four-game stretch. Before this, the Senators had only one game this season where they came back in the third period to earn a point. It was against Minnesota in Sweden, where they tied the game and won in a shootout.
It's a small sample size, but the Senators are starting to resemble a team that can handle adversity.