Early season look at Senators shows improvement

It’s a smallish sample size, no doubt. Still, a 4-2 record six games into this youngish season gives birth to optimism.

Make that optimism . . . about . . . change.

The Ottawa Senators godawful recent history of poor starts to the year has been documented ad nauseum. Pretty well every one of the collected experts who cover the NHL summed up Ottawa’s hopes for stab at a playoff spot in 2024-25 in one sentence.

‘Avoid a slow start out of the gate.’

Well then, six games in and all is running smoothly.

(What’s particularly encouraging for Johnny Senator Fan is that the club’s early success has/had very little to do with that incoming beam-of-hope-unicorns-and-lollipops Linus Ullmark).

But it’s the way the team is playing that adds to the sweet feelings emanating from the nation’s capital. And this is where the word change comes into effect.

Under new coach Travis Green the club is actually paying attention to that previously uncharted territory known as the defensive zone.

Sure, there have been blips – Utah the other night blanketed the Ottawa zone for much of the opening period; Los Angeles the same for much of the entire game a week and a half back – but adherence to the d-zone has been nothing less than encouraging. It’s not only something Green expects, but also something he demands.

To that end, detractors of the Jakob Chychrun to Washington deal that netted right-shot defenceman Nick Jensen might be re-thinking (I know-I know, it’s still early) their disgruntlement.

Jensen’s been steady and particularly required in the absence of shutdown blueline Artem Zub (concussion). And if you’re one who buys into the old plus-minus stat, you’ll appreciate Jensen’s team leading plus-3.

A lot of the pre-season chatter also centered on growth from within. General Manager Steve Staios had what appeared to be an exceedingly underwhelming summer in the player movement category, as the GM cited his stern confidence in the youngish core taking strides, as opposed to going whole hog on free agency and trades.

Again, it’s early, but again, there’s been improvement.

Brady Tkachuk continues to be Brady Tkachuk at the ripe age of 25 (time flies fast, eh?). The growth spurt seen in both 2020 first-rounders Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson is just what Staios was alluding to.

If the club was going to sniff at the post-season, it was up to the young ones to carry the ball.

Stutzle, now 22, appears to have a bit more jump and a bit more confidence after a down year in 2023-24. His eight points (three goals, five assists) has him tied with Tkachuk for the team lead.

Sanderson, also now 22, is averaging more than a point per game as well (one goal, six assists).

Sanderson is also adding to his arsenal. He’s a major player on Ottawa’s power play unit and is also spending time killing penalties. That’s a big jump, especially when you consider the Senators superb start with the man advantage.

If there’s a knock on the team so far, it’s something the brass can’t do much, if anything, about.

Injuries.

We mention Zub and Ullmark in particular.

Concussions are tricky (I don’t think I am relaying anything new here) and can pile up. Zub’s injury needs to be managed appropriately. Jacob Bernard-Docker’s stepped in and been okay. With Zub out for any kind of long term, this won’t go well for Ottawa.

Ditto for the Ullmark situation.

Ottawa not only has a history of horrible starts to the year, but it also has a history steeped in poor health for the goaltenders (Anton Forsberg’s had his issues and before him, Matt Murray . . . among many others). Ullmark’s muscle strain (at least that’s what they’re calling it) is cause for concern. The Senators are strong in some areas, depth in goal is not one of them.

So, here we are two weeks into a new season. Ottawa is where it needs to be at this point. Plowing ahead towards American Thanksgiving and there is finally reason for optimism that the second half of the year will mean something this time around.

OTTAWA SENATORS WEEK AHEAD:

Friday, Oct. 25: Ottawa at Vegas (6 pm)

Sunday, Oct. 27: Ottawa at Colorado (9 pm)

Tuesday, Oct. 29: St. Louis at Ottawa

thegrossgame@yahoo.com