The Ottawa Senators will wake up Wednesday morning in a Wildcard spot after a 3-2 character win in Detroit. The victory not only saw Ottawa leap past the Red Wings, the New York Islanders slipped out of the playoffs by virtue of a loss to Chicago.
Playing their fifth game in seven nights and on the second of a back-to-back, the Senators surged to a surprising 3-0 lead, before the Red Wings made it touch and go right up until the final seconds ticked away. Goalie Linus Ullmark made 32 saves including clutch stops off Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane with Red Wings netminder John Gibson on the bench for a sixth attacker.
Donovan, Yakemchuk make Senators’ NHL debuts
With defensemen Thomas Chabot leaving at the close of the first period and Lassi Thomson injured in the second period of Tuesday’s game in New York, Belleville Senators general manager Matt Turek made the call to Jorian Donovan and Carter Yakemchuk to head to Detroit before Ottawa’s game versus the Rangers concluded. The pair drove the four hours to Michigan where they each made their NHL debuts with family in attendance.
Donovan who resides 20 minutes from the Senators’ Canadian Tire Centre home, played 4:42, taking seven shifts, while registering one shot on goal. Jorian, son of former Senators forward and skills coach Shean became the first father/son duo to lace up the skates for the club. Shean played 177 games for the Senators between 2007-10.
But it was Yakemchuk who stole the night in his much-awaited start to his career. Ottawa’s seventh overall 2024 Entry Draft selection notched a goal and assist becoming the second-ever Senators blueliner to record two points in his NHL debut, matching Maxime Lajoie who accomplished this feat October 4. 2018.
The 20-year-old said scoring was “pretty special,” but with assistance from his new Senators teammates it made for a comforting experience.
“I mean, the guys are great. They’re all super supportive and helpful. So they kind of helped me and “Dono” throughout the game. And it was awesome, the environment,” noted Yakemchuk.
Coach’s advice; “Just play my game when they get the puck. I mean, it’s a great unit. There’s a lot of skill up there, so just, just trying to find them and let them make plays.”
While Yakemchuk is a man of few words, Brady Tkachuk was more than impressed with the poise and performance of the duo debuting in a game with playoff implications on the line.
“They’re great. I mean, “Yak,” “Dono,” it’s not just like a regular first game we’re talking about. It’s almost like their first playoff game with the stakes that were on the season, and I thought they handled it so well. It just speaks the preparation that they put in and to kind of share that, that’s our dream come true, to play in the National Hockey League and get two points at the end night. Really proud of them,” acknowledged the Senators’ captain.
With the circumstance as it was minus five defensmen and having to recall two from the American League, head coach Travis Green recognized his club needed a player step up, and Yakemchuk provided that moment.
“It’s something you dream about your whole life, and obviously we got a big game out of “Yak.” “Baumer” (assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner) did a real good job managing their minutes, getting them out at the right times. You know, “Yak,” he’s a special player. You can see that we needed a play out of someone tonight, and he gave us that play,” explained the Senators head coach.
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Ullmark shines
The Ottawa Senators are in a playoff position for the first time since December 3, and some of that credit has to to go to their starting goaltender Linus Ullmark. Ullmark too gave his team a top-notch performance when they needed him most in a back-to-back situation against a rested Red Wings club.
Since January 25, the Senators boast a 15-3-2 record. Ullmark himself possesses a 9-2-2 mark since returning from his leave absence January 31. His nine wins are second-most league-wide during this period. The 32-year-old numbers include a 2.31 goals against average, .902 save percentage in those 13 appearances.
A “Character win”
A Stanley Cup champion and 17-year veteran, Lars Eller knows what it takes to win and that starts with “character.”
“I just I think we had this such strong character on this team. There were a lot of things are going against us. We’re losing guys, important players in our lineup, and we just don’t make excuses. We find a way to take it a little bit deeper. Lift everyone, lift each other up, and some outstanding efforts today. “Yak” comes in, plays his first game, and what a goal. Everybody’s bringing something to the table. Everybody is is contributing in one way or another, and that’s why we’re we’re winning a lot of games.”
With 11 games remaining, the Senators have a day off prior to facing the Pittsburgh Penguins in Ottawa Thursday.
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