There are five distinct seasons in the NHL calendar.
Four of them you know well: the pre-season, the regular season, the playoff season, and the off-season. The fifth, is a brief period of reflection the Ottawa Senators are now entering.
It’s called the ‘What If’ season, for teams that don’t make the playoffs, time to think about the games and slumps that doomed them.
‘What If’ … they didn’t again have a slow start, losing 11 of 13 games between Oct. 27 and Nov. 23.
‘What If’ … Cam Talbot doesn’t get hurt in pre-season … and in late January … and in March … sometimes stumbling upon his return.
‘What If’ … the Senators goaltender situation doesn’t become a calamity of injury and illness that puts six different goalies into starting roles. A seventh, Leevi Merilainen, might enter the picture before the season ends.
‘What If’ … Josh Norris doesn’t require shoulder surgery and miss all but eight games.
“What If’ … the Sens win just a couple of games on that fateful western road trip (losses to Chicago, Vancouver and Calgary), they would be right in the mix for the wild card.
We could play this game for a while.
What has to frustrate the Senators, their coaches and managers, and their loyal fans – for long stretches of January and February, the Senators were one of the NHL’s better teams, easily good enough to be among the top eight of the Eastern Conference. But those other stretches, earlier in the season and again in March, were crushing to Ottawa’s push to reach a wild card position.
Even then, they were somewhat alive heading into this past weekend.
Facing a situation where they had to basically go on a winning tear and hope for help elsewhere, the Senators had the kind of weekend that leaks air out of a floating Zeppelin. On Saturday, they lost 3-0 to the archrival Toronto Maple Leafs, making the trip to Columbus for a Sunday game an absolute must win.
Cruising through the third period with a 3-2 lead, the Sens gave up a game-tying goal to Boone Jenner and then lost in overtime when the puck rolled off Tim Stützle’s stick and Johnny Gaudreau dished to Kirill Marchenko for the winning goal. Sixteen seconds into overtime.
For one of the few times this season, Senators head coach D.J. Smith was pointedly critical of his goaltender, in this case, Cam Talbot.
“Obviously, it’s a bad turnover (by Stützle), but at that point you need a save,” Smith said. “And we didn’t get it.”
Talbot gave up two goals on the first two shots by Columbus and has save percentages of .636 and .818 and in his two starts (versus Philadelphia and Columbus) since returning from an oblique injury. Talbot had a groin injury in late January/February and suffered a cracked rib in pre-season.
Mads Sogaard, the rookie goalie who stepped in after Anton Forsberg suffered double MCL tears, was ill on Saturday and left after 40 minutes of play against the Leafs. He did not travel on this trip and prospect Leevi Merilainen, a recent addition to the AHL Belleville Senators, was called up to back up Talbot.
Merilainen, who had a strong season in Finland, made his AHL debut on Saturday and won in style, blanking the Toronto Marlies 4-0 with a 41-save performance. The B-Sens sit three points behind Laval in the race for the final playoff spot in the North Division.
Meanwhile, with the parent club, goaltending was not the Senators’ only issue against a Columbus team that sits last in the Eastern Conference and had lost 7-0 to Florida on Saturday.
Jon Gillies, the journeyman goalie who got the win versus the Sens was making his first NHL start of the season. Gillies has played just 15 AHL games this season with a .878 save percentage, but Ottawa made him look like an NHL veteran.
“We had a few too many guys that weren’t ready to play,” Smith said. “In a game like this when your season’s on the line, you have to have them going on a back-to-back.
“These are learning lessons for some of these guys. You have to take care of the puck. Sometimes in these back-to-backs, you get tired and make mental mistakes. You have to learn to simplify the game.”
Ah, yes. Learning lessons.
They are just about all that remains of this season for the Senators. Learning lessons and a chance for their youngest prospects to gain NHL experience.
Though they have not yet officially been eliminated, realistic hopes are gone.
Following Pittsburgh’s win over Philly on Sunday, the Senators now sit six points behind the Penguins for the final wild-card spot. Ottawa also trails Florida by five and the Buffalo Sabres by one.
The Sens have five games left, as do Pittsburgh and Florida. Buffalo has seven games remaining. Even if the Senators won all five, they would not be able to earn more than 90 points.
Expect the ‘What If’ talk to ensue for the next couple of weeks while the Senators wrap up their regular season schedule, reflect on the year that was and look ahead to next season, which offers a lot of promise.
