The Ottawa Senators opened their New Year with a resounding win and a burning question: Is this the team we expected from the start of the season?
With Sunday’s systematic 3-1 victory over the surging Buffalo Sabres, in which the Senators threw a wet blanket on a burning Buffalo offence, Ottawa has won three of its four games since the four-day Christmas break beating some good teams in that week – Boston, Washington and Buffalo. A loss in Detroit Saturday, after blowing a 2-0 lead, was the only blemish.
Those late December wins helped the Sens furnish an 8-4-2 record for the month and set them up nicely for a further push up the standings. Can Ottawa finally break through the .500 barrier? The next chance comes on Tuesday, with the east’s weakest team in town, the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Now at 17-17-3, the Senators have hit the .500 mark for a third time since Dec. 17. A last place team just a couple of weeks ago, Ottawa has passed the Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers in the standings and are just one point back of the Sabres in the Atlantic Division.
As far as the Wild Card race, the Sens are just seven points behind the last playoff spot and have four teams ahead of them, where they used to have six. Yes, that is a light in the tunnel ahead, and not an oncoming train.
Lucchini inspires a room and a crowd
In their 4-2 loss to the Red Wings on Saturday, the Senators learned a valuable lesson. Playing fast and loose can be costly. A day later, in front of a New Years’ Day evening crowd of 18,231, the Senators hounded the high-flying Sabres at every turn.
Even on their three power plays, including an extended five-on-three, the Sabres didn’t get much. When they did break through, they hit one post, one crossbar and goaltender Anton Forsberg, 33 times. At times, this game was boring to watch. But for the winning coach, boring was beautiful.
“We know how much offence they have, they lead the NHL in scoring,” said Senators head coach D.J. Smith. “We knew the way we had to play in order to win and I just thought we stayed with it all the way.”
Prodigious Buffalo scorer Tage Thompson clanged a shot off the crossbar late in the third period, preserving Ottawa’s 2-1 lead. Tim Stützle opened the scoring in the first period, converting a loose puck, and he finished it, into an empty Buffalo net.
Jacob Lucchini, a 27-year-old career minor leaguer, warmed hearts from here to his hometown of Trail, B.C. by scoring his first in the NHL, on an Ottawa power play in the second period.
Derick Brassard worked the puck down low, before releasing it out front to Lucchini, who realized a childhood dream by firing it past the stick side of veteran goalie Craig Anderson, the former Senator.
“I was pretty nervous,” Lucchini said, after the game. “Knowing that you get a chance to score your first NHL goal, you get pretty excited. My eyes opened up pretty big.
“Obviously it’s something I’ve dreamed about my whole life.”
Lucchini, who has played more than 200 games in the minors, was traded from AHL Laval to Belleville last season for “future considerations,” but the story goes that it was for $1. (Ah, but was it a U.S. greenback or a Canadian loonie?).
When it was announced over the PA that Lucchini had scored his first NHL goal, the crowd erupted in applause.
“It’s great for everyone, it’s great for the fans,” Smith said. “Here’s a guy who could have given in. I think he said he was traded for $1 in the American League . . . to Belleville. And he goes down there and does what he does. He doesn’t read the hype as to who’s ahead of him in the lineup, and what draft picks are going to play ahead of him. He just goes ahead and does his job and here he is.”
Lucchini’s mother, Sandy, who flew to Detroit from B.C. to see her son play on Saturday, was also in the house for the big goal. They exchanged telephone texts post game, part of Lucchini’s phone blowing up with messages while he was busy talking to reporters.
“It’s hard to put into words, honestly,” Lucchini said. “You know, you just dream about it. And it was so special. There were so many people in the crowd and it was such an exciting game. To have a positive impact like that was really important for me.”
Lucchini said he found a comfort level right away in Belleville last season because Ben Sexton was there as an assistant coach, a player he once had as a teammate in Wilkes-Barre (2018-19).
“It helped me with my confidence,” Lucchini said, following a “tough” COVID year the year before in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre and Laval. Belleville was a new opportunity and he made the most of it.
Lucchini may not be going back down to Belleville anytime soon. Ottawa’s new third line of Parker Kelly, Dylan Gambrell and Lucchini is very effective – they seem to be flying around at a hundred miles and hour. Parker and Kelly led the hit parade with five each.
“We play similarly,” Lucchini said. “We’re three guys who like to skate. We’re all on the same page – get the puck in and go to work. It seems to be working for us.”
The line of the night on Lucchini had to come from Stützle, who called Lucchini a “great kid.”
Stützle is 20, seven years younger than Lucchini. Yet, it kind of makes sense. In terms of NHL experience, Stützle is the veteran of the two, with 165 NHL games to Lucchini’s five.
Captain Brady Tkachuk was equally tickled for Lucchini’s first goal.
“Always special, not just for Luch but for everybody else,” Tkachuk said. “It takes you back to your first goal and how excited you were.”
Defence first, for Sens top line
Tkachuk, by the way, took great pride in having his line, with Stützle and Claude Giroux match up against Buffalo’s top line of Thompson, Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch. Those three are a handful but for the most part, the skating of Stützle, the physical play of Tkachuk and the guile of Giroux did the job. The Sabres No. 1 line was held off the scoresheet and finished -2 on the two Stützle goals.
Smith said afterward that the two-way role gave his top trio a “real purpose” heading into the game.
“You always kind of want to go against the top guys,” Tkachuk said. “It’s a challenge. Myself and G and Timmy want to be able to go against their top guys and make it hard for them to get chances. We played hard against them.”
Interestingly, Stützle is also being used more and more in a penalty-killing role (keep in mind that top PK forward Tyler Motte is injured) and enjoying it. He was the lone forward to start off a successful kill on a five-on-three Buffalo advantage.
“I try to play better defensively every day and I think D.J. trusts me in every situation,” Stützle said. “I try to give it back to him and play my best – do everything for the team, block shots and … hopefully help to win.”
At 21 minutes 10 seconds, Stützle had the most ice time of any forward on either team. Smith says it only makes sense to tap into the kid’s potential.
“He’s going to be a household name for a long time,” Smith said, of Stützle. “And a guy like that can play in all situations.”
