The Ottawa Senators took it on the chin Tuesday at the hands of the St.Louis Blues. A large portion of Senators fans weren’t around to see Fabian Zetterlund’s late power-play marker, which trimmed the Blues’ lead to five in the final 90 seconds.
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Even the Senators digital social team weren’t amused.
The lopsided loss itself isn’t devastating on the whole, but it did expose several concerns coming out of the Senators preseason.
There’s no hiding the fact that Ottawa has been performing at a high level, for the most part winning five of seven games to open their 2026-27 NHL campaign. They’ve also accomplished this while playing seven games in 11 nights, which makes their start that much more impressive.
Fatigue was definitely a factor, per head coach Travis Green.
“I don’t ever doubt our guy’s effort. No, I think their passing. If you’re tired, you can be a little bit ineffective. Play the seven games, I think, in 11 days. A lot we’re asking, got some big nights out of some guys. We definitely weren’t sharp enough to win tonight,” Green said Tuesday postgame.
It’s not a coincidence; both Senators losses came on the second of back-to-back games after earning victories in each of their first outings.
Injuries affect Senators blue line
The Senators were once again minus their top defense duo of Jake Sanderson/Artem Zub. Not to mention, Nik Mantipalo left Monday’s game in Newark after being hit from behind by Devils Anthony Mantha. Jorian Donovan was recalled from Belleville, leaving the Senators to face the Blue icing three D-men, accruing a total of 15 regular-season games in their lineup.
Sanderson has played only 4:29 this season to date. Zub has yet to appear in any contest after a knee injury knocked him out of Game 1 of last season’s playoff round versus Carolina.
The good news: Sanderson and Zub are “close” to returning per Green. Zub took part in practice last week and may be an option as early as Thursday when Ottawa meets the Islanders. It’s hoped Sanderson will also return in the coming days. The belief is that after missing one game, Mantipalo could also return.
Having youngsters Carter Yakemchuk and Hoyt Stanley on the back end bearing little experience is great for the pair being tossed into the fire, but it does leave Ottawa’s defensive zone vulnerable at times.
Yakemchuk is a boom or bust defender. The Senators seventh overall 2024 Entry Draft selection certainly has a blistering shot in his arsenal; however, he’s prone to rookie foibles. Senators players, obviously, weren’t at their best Tuesday, but Yakemchuk took the brunt, finishing minus-five on the night.
Senators not-so-power play
Assistant coach Ben Sexton was handed the reins to draw up the Senators power play when Daniel Alfredsson bolted to enemy territory.
So far, without Sanderson in the quarterback position, there’s been a lack of success. If the team misses Brady Tkachuk in any manner, it’s likely his down-low net presence with the man-advantage. Tkachuk cleared space for others and is a master of redirecting the puck.
But the rotation of the forwards and the deft skating of Sanderson, expect Ottawa’s PP to be back in sync in relatively short order. The recent absence of William Eklund doesn’t help either. Eklund is a creative passer who’s not shy around the net.
The Senators PP unit is 5 for 33, 15.2%, ranking 24th league-wide.
Green noted Tuesday, “Our power play wasn’t good enough.” It’s the lack of execution, the Senators head coach explained, which has done them in of late, but added it’s correctable.
“Well, they’re not executing passes first. Simple passes; pucks were rolling instead of passing. I think it’s just the simple things. You’ve got to do those things well before you even start over the rest of it.”
Thomas Chabot echoed the comments of his coach.
“I mean at times we’ve had some chances. At times it hasn’t been great. Let’s call a spade a spade. We’re going to keep on nailing down details and maybe keep things a bit more simple and get some guys some traffic,” added the Senators captain.
Need to score more
The season is only seven games old, but Tim Stützle (5), Drake Batherson (3) have accounted for 40% of all Senators goals. Dylan Cozens is coming off a 28-goal campaign and has yet to dent the net.
More offense is also needed from across the board.
Backing the backup
Samuel Ersson was acquired from Toronto by way of Philadelphia to be counted on as backup to Linus Ullmark.
Turning 27 on October 20, Ersson outdueled Leevi Merilainen in the preseason to claim the job. Merilainen was subsequently waived and claimed by the Vancouver Canucks. Currently with Belleville, goaltender Jonas Johansson was added from Tampa Bay.
Ersson came highly recommended by Senators goalie brass, after a pair of disappointing seasons with the Flyers notwithstanding.
Ersson has tended goal in each of Ottawa’s two defeats, but it’s definitely been a team effort. The jury is still out on Ersson, who’s armed with a two-year contract.
With 77 games remaining, there’s likely going to be a few stinkers, as they say, but learning to navigate through them will be the Ottawa Senators key to success.
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