SENSNEWS

The Ottawa Senators are back in the win column after defeating the Seattle Kraken by a final score of 2-0! The Senators finally found a way to win a game, primarily off of an excellent performance from Forsberg in the crease, who stopped all 39 shots faced tonight. Batherson continued his hot streak scoring tonight, and the Senators may have found a new line to keep together for the immediate future. Check out below for an entire recap of tonight’s Ottawa Senators win!

Ottawa Senators Seattle Kraken Game Recap

First Period Recap

The first period was a mixed bag for the Senators as they went back and forth with the Seattle Kraken. Anton Forsberg was rock solid in the net, stopping all eleven shots faced, with some being very dangerous opportunities. The Senators played quite well as a whole, but the fourth line was noticeably outclassed by the Kraken. The most obvious example of this was a two-minute shift where the Sens were hemmed in their own zone while giving up numerous scoring chances to Seattle.

A typical message we have heard from DJ Smith is that the Senators haven’t been getting bounces in their game. Well, this was not the case on the Senators first goal of the game. After Matty Beniers caught an edge cutting in front of the net, the puck slid onto the stick of Mathieu Joseph. Joseph made a patient and effective move to slide Daccord out of position before cutting back to his forehand and flipping the puck into the top of the net. Joseph’s fifth goal of the season had the Ottawa Senators up 1-0, and this lead would last going into the intermission.

Second Period Recap

The second period was nearly a carbon copy of the first for the Senators. The play was quite even for the most part, with Forsberg standing tall once again. The Senators had some power play opportunities in the second frame but could not capitalize on them. That being said, the power play did look effective in the second, regardless of their lack of production.

There was also a pair of injury scares in the second for the Senators. It was first Thomas Chabot who went down awkwardly in the corner and was in a lot of discomfort getting off the ice. The injury looked as if it was to his knee or ankle, and his reaction did not make it look good. Luckily, he returned later in the second and seemed to be ok. Stützle was also slow to get up after being taken down by Tolvanen in the Sens zone. Stützle stayed out on his shift after getting up slowly and seemed A-OK on his breakaway chance he earned just seconds later.

The only goal in the second period came for the Ottawa Senators. Like the Joseph goal, the Kraken made a mistake around their own net that proved costly. Joey Daccord coughed up the puck behind the net to Vladimir Tarasenko, who quickly fed it out front to Tim Stützle. Timmy made an excellent second pass to Batherson on the back door, who finally scored after two great chances early in the game. The Senators would carry a 2-0 lead into the dressing room going into the final twenty minutes.

Third Period Recap

Coming into this game, the Ottawa Senators had a perfect 6-0-0 record when leading after two periods. This should comfort fans, but given the recent stretch, it could very well have been perceived as a jinx! To win this game, the Ottawa Senators were going to need to lay it all on the line against a desperate Seattle team.

The Senator’s defence, and more importantly Anton Forsberg, was giving it everything they had in the third period. The Sens made sure to get into the lanes of Seattle’s shots, and when the puck got through to the net, Anton Forsberg was an absolute wall. One play in particular to recognize was Erik Brannstrom’s block as time expired to save Forsberg’s shutout. That kind of comradery is what gives me hope that this team can eventually figure it out under the proper guidance.

Another important piece of information to note is that the Senators gave both Zack MacEwen and Travis Hamonic a minuscule amount of ice time. MacEwen played only 3:23 tonight, while Hamonic played just 5:17. There is something to be said about DJ’s past inability to hold players accountable for their performance. Still, he did limit the not-so-dynamic duo in tonight’s game. Of course, those two players were not the sole reason for the Senator’s struggles, but limiting their role is definitely a step in the right direction.

The Senators would go on to win the game by a final score of 2-0. Even though there were still some deficiencies in the Senator’s systematic play, nothing feels better than a win. At the end of the day, they don’t ask how, they ask how many.

Ottawa Senators Standouts

*Stats VIA NaturalStatTrick

Anton Forsberg

Anton Forsberg’s play has been inconsistent to start the season, but he was excellent tonight against Seattle. When a team is in a rut like the Sens have been, sometimes it takes a big performance to spark some new life into the team. Forsberg single-handedly gifted the Senators the win tonight, stopping all 39 shots faced.

• Saves 39/39
• 2.75 GSAx
• 6 High Danger Saves
• 14 Medium Danger Saves

Drake Batherson

Drake Batherson is heating up for the Senators! Batherson was all over the ice tonight and eventually found the back of the net against his old teammate, Joey Daccord. Batherson hit a pair of cross bars in tonight’s game as well. The line of himself, Stützle, and Tarasenko was outstanding all night long. Batherson is up to six goals and four assists in his last ten games.

• 13:15 TOI
• 1 Goal
• 48.15 CF%
• 65.59 xGF%
• 57.14 SCF%
• 83.33 HDCF%

Tim Stützle

Tim Stützle had himself a night against the Kraken. As mentioned before, the line of himself, Tarasenko, and Batherson was electric all night long. Stützle’s one assist in the game was an absolute beauty on the Batherson goal, and he put the Senators on the power play numerous times. The consistent goal-scoring will come soon for Tim Stützle.

• 15:39 TOI
• 1 Assist
• 45.45 CF%
• 66.38 xGF%
• 47.62 SCF%
• 80.00 HDCF%

Thomas Chabot

Thomas Chabot looks like a different player since returning from his injury. Chabot had another great game tonight, playing excellent at both ends of the ice. Chabot did not register any points in tonight’s game, but he definitely could have had one or two that were stolen from him off of great saves by Joey Daccord.

• 18:18 TOI (Team High)
• 48.65 CF%
• 55.04 xGF%
• 45.00 SCF%
• 58.33 HDCF%

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