After going 4-4-1 on their nine-game make-or-break road road trip, the Ottawa Senators are still holding on to their playoff hopes. However, among goalie inconsistency and scoring issues, something may need to change.
The Senators picked up an important point last night in an overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Ottawa is now sitting at 42 points on the season, just out of a wild card position, but still very much in the race. Especially considering they have played one or more fewer games than the teams they are trailing.
The biggest flip this season between last year’s disappointment and this year’s contending attitude is goaltending.
Linus Ullmark has propelled this Senators team into the wild-card race. However, after leaving their Dec. 22nd game early with a back injury and spending a few games day-to-day, Travis Green announced that the Ullmark is week-to-week until at least Jan 15th.
Ullmark being out is another goalie issue to add to Ottawa’s list.
For a long time, they have struggled to find someone who can hold it down between the pipes. Although they finally found their guy in Ullmark, he has struggled to stay healthy this season.
Their backup Anton Forsberg was out for the beginning of Ullmark’s IL stint due to an injury suffered in warmups back on Dec. 14th. This meant for a good part of their road trip, the net was being held down by Belleville Senators goalie Leevi Meriläinen.
While the young Meriläinen may not have been the usual Vezina winner in net, he still kept the Senators in most games, holding teams to four or fewer goals and coming out of his road trip stint 2-2.
With Forsberg back in the line-up, the Senators managed to squeak out a point against the Red Wings with a 3-2 overtime loss.
While the net seems to be a revolving door of goalies, this highlights the Senators’ other major problem.
A lack of scoring.
Although Ottawa has stayed in the playoff conversation all season long and has definitely seen offensive improvements from last year, outsourcing their opponents proved to be difficult on the tail end of their road trip. ‘
After their 5-4 win over Vancouver on Dec. 21st, they went 1-4-1, scoring no more than two goals in each loss. They even got shut out for the second time this season on Jan. 3rd against the St. Louis Blues.
In the absence of Ullmark, being able to put the puck in the net becomes increasingly important.
Whether this sudden inability to score is coming from a more defensive mindset amidst inconsistent goaltending, or was a result of the fatigue a 9 game road trip over the holidays is bound to cause, the Senators need to turn it around.
The good news is the top guys are performing. Brady Tkachuk leads the team in scoring with 18 goals, and Tim Stützle leads in assists and scoring at 29 and 41, respectively.
This means the Senators will be looking to guys like Josh Norris and Shane Pinto for a few more depth goals as they try to continue their push towards a wild card spot.
Luckily for them, they play the Eastern Conference’s worst team, the Buffalo Sabres, at home on Jan. 9th. That may be just what the doctor ordered for this struggling Ottawa offense.
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