Your Senators finally got one, eh?

What a relief to wake up this morning and see the Ottawa Senators actually closed out a game, and against the New York Islanders, no less. We got the 3-0 shutout win on the road, which is exactly what we needed after some of those head-scratchers lately. The boys barely generated a thing for stretches, getting outshot 16-23, but Joonas Korpisalo stood on his head. Ridly Greig got us on the board shorthanded in the first period, a real beauty set up by Mark Kastelic. Then in the third, Jake Sanderson blasted one home on the power play, assisted by Dylan Cozens and Tim Stützle, to finally give us some breathing room. Mark Amadio sealed it with an empty-netter with help from Shane Pinto and Greig, so good for him.

This win, it moves us to 43-27-10 for 96 points, which solidifies our hold on that first Wild Card spot. We're now six points clear of the Detroit Red Wings, who are nipping at our heels, so this breathing room is huge. We’ve got a tough stretch coming up, eh? A quick turnaround for a home game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, then the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Every point is critical right now, especially with how tight the East is. We can’t afford to let up, not with the playoffs actually within reach.

The mood in Ottawa this morning, it’s a lot lighter. People are probably making their plans for Shawarma Palace later, feeling a bit of that old optimism coming back. It feels good to string a win together, especially after some of the rollercoaster rides we’ve been on. This is the kind of effort we need consistently if we want to make some noise in the postseason.

Eleven-eleven, boys. Eleven-eleven.

You know Keith and the gang are all over this on the morning show — check 'em out live at mornings.live.