Senators At Blues Morning Open Thread: Even Strength

Saturday night's 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs was not ideal. While the silence surrounding the team after the game was more due to a lack of traveling press than anything else, it strikes me as interesting that Kevin Shattenkirk was unavailable to accept the Panger Award for the week. Team not in the mood after a poorly played game? Sure. Closed door meeting to discuss some issues? One can only hope.

After the game, Patrik Berglund mentioned a key error of the Blues:

"I think we still don’t get off as many scoring chances," Berglund said. "We can have more traffic in front of the net. I thought (Bernier) saw a whole lot of pucks today. It’s obviously a problem and something we really have to work on when we’re moving forward here."

If you're going to fire the puck at a goalie (as you should!), perhaps said goaltender shouldn't be able to see every shot.

Also, if you're having problems scoring at even strength, if you're gifted an empty net, it is helpful to put the puck in that net.

Brian Elliott will get a chance to face off against his old team tonight,. A solid defensive performance and a few goals would go a long way to getting Ells a win.

This is your morning open thread. Check back later on for a Lighting the Lamp courtesy of Rick, your game preview, and your GDT. While you're waiting, see what the folks at Silver Seven are up to, and how they're handling last night's game against the Blackhawks.