OTTAWA — Another “lost season?”
Too big a hole to come back from?
Try telling that to big Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk. Go on. I double dare you.
“We’ve played pretty solid hockey as of late to finish it off here,” Tkachuk said after the Senators’ 3-2 overtime victory in Detroit Wednesday. The last game before the All-Star break.
“Now it’s all about rest, regroup, and be ready to go for a big push to hopefully prove a lot of people wrong after the break.”
While Tkachuk doesn’t use the “P” word, it’s clear the Senators have a goal of making some noise in their final 35 games of the season after getting win No. 20 just before their 10-day break. Their overall record is 20-25-2, for 42 points. A playoff run would require a Hamburglar 2.0 kind of journey down the stretch.
Shane Pinto scored the OT winner against the Red Wings, driving to the net to redirect a pass from Thomas Chabot.
Tkachuk, on a breakaway after emerging from the penalty box, and Mark Kastelic, on a tip in front, scored the other Ottawa goals.
Dylan Larkin and Daniel Sprong scored for Detroit.
Defenceman Jake Sanderson went to the visitors’ dressing room late in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return. There was no update on Sanderson post-game.
The Senators survived without their top D-man by playing another strong team game.
“The other (five) guys did a good job,” said interim Senators head coach Jacques Martin. “They kept the game simple and I thought our forwards came back and helped a great deal.”
The Pinto-Vladimir Tarasenko-Ridly Greig line was Ottawa’s best all night.
The common denominator: fewer breakdowns.
Remember that chatter that the Senators didn’t get a “coach bump” after they brought in Martin to replace D.J. Smith? Well, they’re bumping now.
Over the past 10 games, Ottawa is 6-2-2. In eight of those games, the Senators have limited the opposition to three goals or fewer. The two exceptions were losses to the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers.
“I think we’re going in the right direction,” Martin said. “We seem to be maturing. We seem to be able to handle the ups and downs of a game better. And, I think, technically, we’ve been better as far as limiting the number of goals-against and scoring chances-against.”
Maybe it’s time they drop the “interim” tag and just call him head coach.
Sens love to face Detroit
Among the many peculiarities of this Ottawa Senators team is their ability to rise to the occasion when the rival suits them.
Certain teams bring out the best, and nastiest, that the Sens have to offer.
One of those teams is the Red Wings. For Ottawa, Wednesday’s win was business as usual.
Since the 2019-20 season, the Senators hold a 12-2-1 advantage over Detroit, including 3-1 this season. One of those victories came in Sweden — you will recall Tim Stützle batting the puck out of midair for the overtime win.
It’s difficult to pinpoint what it is about the Red Wings that sends the Sens’ blood pressure rising. Yes, there was that wild incident involving Dylan Larkin in the last meeting, where two Senators players, Mathieu Joseph and Parker Kelly, checked the Wings captain, who fell motionless to the ice.
In response, David Perron attacked neither of the two, but erroneously went after Artem Zub with a cross-check to the head. Perron was suspended six games for the act.
In this latest meeting, the teams stuck to hockey but no one can forget a feisty game last season in Ottawa in which Tkachuk challenged the entire Red Wings bench with a taunt of “who (bleeping) wants it?” This was during the consecutive games between the two rivals in late February, 6-2 and 6-1 beatdowns by Ottawa that put to question Detroit’s character as a group.
The Red Wings have rebounded significantly this season, and are where the Sens thought they would be — in the hunt for a wild-card spot in the East.
And yet, even now, Ottawa gives Detroit trouble.
It isn’t just the Wings who get the juices flowing on the Senators bench.
Anecdotally, I would argue that Toronto, Montreal, Boston and Detroit are the four franchises the Senators never have to worry about getting “up” to play.
(Sorry, Buffalo, but the rivalry between these two young rosters just isn’t there yet. Not like it used to be and perhaps will be again.)
Here is Ottawa’s record this season versus the four teams it likes the least: 7-2-1.
Against Detroit (3-1), Montreal (2-0 and eight wins in a row), Toronto (2-1), Boston (one OT loss).
If they only played these Atlantic Division rivals, Ottawa might be in a playoff position right now.
Time for a break
Teams at the All-Star break generally fall into one of two camps: Those that are rolling and would like to keep the momentum going; and those that are hitting a wall and need a little time to dip their toes into a warm sea for a few days.
Is it possible that the Senators, to paraphrase former head coach Clory Clouston, might be in the “little bit of both” camps?
We’re certain they could use a break. Lord knows, their fans could use a rest after four months of topsy-turvy results over that span, plus changes at the general manager level, in hockey operations, with the head coach and goalie coach. All of this overseen by a new owner who came to these responsibilities on Sept. 22.
As crazy as things have been, the Senators are actually playing a better brand of hockey under coach Martin over the past couple of weeks. So, there has to be a bit of a thought that it would be nice to keep going.
Tkachuk appears to be in favour of that. And he doesn’t mind that he will forego a warm beach for his All-Star Game participation in Toronto this weekend. Tkachuk said he is looking forward to seeing some of his hockey pals and his family at the festivities.
As for missing out on a beach break?
Tkachuk says that’s quite OK.
“I’ve had a couple of breaks where I’ve had a little too much fun,” Tkachuk said.
