The Ottawa Senators are not seeing as quick of a turnaround from last season as many fans may have hoped, however, for the still-young team, things could be going worse.
The Senators are sitting at last in the Atlantic and 12th in the conference. While they may be pretty far off from the 8-0 Jets, their 4-4 record heading into the week could be worse.
The Sens started their season off with a bang, taking a home victory over the now division leaders, in the Florida Panthers. After game one, save for some stamina issues, this team was looking promising.
However, as we reach the end of the first month of the season, the holes in this Ottawa roster are gaping.
Pinto-Perron Problems
What was a highlight of the first few games of the season is now a big hole in the lineup. After game one, the Perron-Pinto-Amadio line was a great source of scoring chances and depth for this team.
However, with David Perron out for personal reasons until October 31st and Shane Pinto out with an undisclosed injury until November 4th, Ottawa has been struggling to come out on top in high-scoring games.
This is a tough break for Pinto, who is looking to have a career year coming off a year cut short by a gambling suspension.
The young center was said to be a high point for the Sens and was off to a strong start with an experienced line that worked well together. The Senators organization and players alike will be hoping that whatever this injury is, it does not stick around.
Blue Line Blunders
The Senators’ defense hasn’t been a point of strength for a while, but with top defender Artem Zub out with a concussion, the weakness has been on blast.
Thomas Chabot is a key piece for the Senators on the offensive side when it comes to defensemen, however, when he’s below his own blueline, he’s not the most reliable.
Chabot has yet to have a season with a positive +/- and is currently sitting at a -3+/- on the 2024-2025 season.
If things continue this way for the D-core, even with the return of Zub, there’s a possibility we could see Carter Yakemchuk coming up sooner rather than later.
Goalie Gaps
In one of the biggest moves this offseason, the Senators locked in Vezina winner Linus Ullmark.
While he was able to steal a game for them in the first game of the season, he was quickly taken down by an injury and hasn’t regained his footing quite yet, sitting 1-2 with only four appearances over the Sens 8 games so far.
Anton Forsberg has been the second man for Ottawa over the past few years and has fit back into that role among the trials and tribulations the sens have faced between the pipes.
Forsberg is 2-2 in five starts for the Sens with an .895 save percentage.
Mads Sogaard looked good in his one start, however, is facing a lower-body injury suffered while playing for the Belleville Senators.
Goalie issues have been one of the main contributors to the Senators’ lackluster seasons recently. The hope was that going and getting a guy like Ullmark would turn that ship around, however, as of right now it isn’t working out that way.
While there is no reason to freak out after only eight games, you can’t blame Sens fans for being spooked by the same glaring issues they’ve been watching for years.
On a Man Disadvantage
One of those glaring issues that seems to be creeping back in this year is the constant penalty kill.
It’s like a bad habit the Senators just can’t break.
It is hard to win games when you are constantly a man down, and the Senators are seeing that firsthand. The team has combined for 59 Penalty Minutes over their first eight games.
There is such a thing as good penalties. But those, unfortunately, are not the kind of penalties the Sens are taking. There is no room to be taking these kinds of dumb penalties when your penalty kill is working at a 76.2% rate. A rate that puts them 20th in the league.
They may have been able to come out with some wins that they may have not deserved on paper, but when it comes to those big games that the Sens hope to play in the spring, you can’t afford to put teams with top talent on the power play.
There may be a lot of things the Ottawa Senators will be looking to work on as the season continues to progress, but there are certainly positives to be found within their 4-4 record.
Power Play Pros
The Senators struggled with success from their first unit on the power play last year, finishing with a 23.53% success rate.
In a short sample size so far this season, Ottawa has managed to double that percent, currently sitting at 40%.
One of the main issues with the power play last season was the productivity, or lack-there-of, from Tim Stutzle. The German finished last season with one power-play goal on a Sens team that had the most power-play opportunities in the league.
This year, Stutzle matched that total in the first game, scoring the season’s opening goal on the man advantage. He has scored four power-play goals in just eight games this season, proving to be a key part of the Ottawa PP1 Unit.
Gritty Resolve
Another key aspect of the game for this Senators team has been their grit. Consistently out-scoring teams when it comes to blocked shots and hits.
What the Senators need to do now is learn how to translate these quality efforts into offensive chances. If they decide that their style of play is going to be one of grit, everyone needs to buy in and find those cheap goals and gritty plays.
But before any of that happens, the Senators need to figure out if that play is sustainable for them. This team has shown moments and minutes of brilliance but has struggled to play a complete three periods.
If Ottawa can figure out how to play a full, gritty, sixty minutes, that could set them apart from their other middle-of-the-pack competition. They still have enough star power on their top line to lead them, however, there isn’t as much depth on this team when it comes to sheer talent.
Meaning, that if they want to win games, everyone has to contribute in a meaningful way. Especially since their top-end talent isn’t comparable to some other teams’ top-end talent.
The biggest issue with this Senators’ team is identity.
Not only do they not have a clear future, but they don’t seem to know who they are right now. If they can figure that out and get into a groove this season, they have a lot of the tools to be playing meaningful hockey when April comes around.
