Count me in.
This corner was one of the (many) corners in the collective journalistic universe of hockey to mark the Ottawa Senators as a team destined to fall precipitously following the exit of their exalted leader this past summer. When Brady Tkachuk bolted for the badlands of south Florida, the expectation was doom and gloom way up here in Ottawa.
And although it’s still relatively early in this NHL season . . . boy, was I off base.
Through the opening 20 games of the year, the Senators are sitting pretty with a record 12-6-2. Fairly remarkable considering they’ve accomplished a great chunk of that without the services of No. 1 stopper Linus Ullmark.
The record puts Ottawa right in the mix for top spot in the Atlantic Division; easily the toughest division in the league. Adding salt to the Tkachuk(s)-led-Panthers’ ouch and sting is that Ottawa is two points up on Florida; considered by many in our field as a pre-season Stanley Cup favourite.
In all fairness though, we’d be neglectful if we didn’t point out that Brady’s doing quite well (as well) with his 21 points and 11 goals in Florida’s first 20 matchups. Brady also leads the Cats in penalty minutes with 56. No surprise there.
Brady’s been hailed as a bit of a hockey unicorn; a talent that mixes muscle and mayhem with great success. And as good as he was in his eight years in Ottawa (213 goals and 463 points), Brady’s departure has yet to dent the Senators’ progress. In many ways, they’ve become a better, quicker and quieter hockey team. In case you’re still living with a 1970s and 1980s mentality, quicker is the key to success these days.
We’re nearly one-quarter of the way through the season and – again though it’s still relatively early to project these things – you’d have to count head coach Travis Green as a Jack Adams (coach of the year) consideration.
Case in point was Ottawa’s latest win, Thursday night against another Cup fave in Colorado.
Green had his lads ready to play, that’s for sure. Ottawa got first period markers from Shane Pinto and Tim Stutzle to carry a 2-zip advantage into the second frame.
After Colorado fought back with three straight goals to take a 3-2 lead, Drake Batherson chipped one in with just under four minutes to play to take this game into overtime. Pinto nailed the winner – on his 26th birthday no less – in extra time.
“It’s pretty cool. It’s just a cool day,” Pinto told the media after the win. “You can’t take these moments for granted. I was just glad we got the win. It was a cool way to end it.”
Ottawa’s counting on the ‘cool’ trend to continue.
Not lost in all this is just who did the scoring. Pinto, Stutzle and to a large degree, Batherson have morphed into leaders on a team entering its prime. The trio sit at the top of the Senators scoring list – Stutzle has 24 points and 10 goals; Batherson with 10 goals and 19 points; and Pinto has collected nine markers and 17 points.
Meantime at the other end of the rink, Ullmark made his return from a lower body ailment and was dynamite at times in pushing his record to 8-1 while posting a 1.52 goals-against average and .938 save percentage. The 33-year-old is clearly back in his Vezina Trophy form of 2022-23, although health has become an issue in the last couple of years.
“In the first, he made some unreal saves where we really thought the puck was in,” offered Stutzle, post-game. “He’s such a good goalie, we have so much confidence back there, and it’s great to have him back.”
It’s hard not to buy into the gung-ho attitude surrounding this team. Ottawa is fast and relentless seemingly every game, and the new world order has taken over the leadership void left by Tkachuk in snappy fashion.
If the Senators can take care of business the next three games – against beatable opponents – the top of the Atlantic could become a reality.
OTTAWA SENATORS WEEK AHEAD:
Nov. 14: Ottawa at Pittsburgh (7 pm)
Nov. 17: Ottawa at Winnipeg (7 pm)
Nov. 19: Philadelphia at Ottawa (7 pm)
thegrossgame@yahoo.com
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