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After a tough week, Ottawa Senators need to give young players a chance

Last week was a tough one for the Ottawa Senators, losing all three games versus Winnipeg.

They led 3-2 until the last minutes of the game on Tuesday, before allowing an equalizer with 1:17 left, and then losing in overtime.

The Senators outshot the Jets 41-28, they deserved to win.

“We made a lot of young mistakes racing around trying to score rather than defending,” said Head Coach D.J. Smith to the media. “That’s a learning lesson tonight.”

The “young mistakes” comments were met with disagreement from many Sens fans.

Drake Batherson (22), Josh Norris (21), and Brady Tkachuk (20) were the youngest players on the ice for the Senators, and they combined for 20 shots playing as Ottawa’s top line.

After a convincing 4-1 Winnipeg win on Thursday night, the Senators found themselves in another close game on Saturday.

Going into the third up 3-2 with the shots 17-16 in their favour, they collapsed.

Winnipeg scored four unanswered goals, outshooting Ottawa 20-4 in the period, on the way to a 6-3 win.

A pivotal moment came with five minutes left and the game tied. After killing off a potent Jets powerplay and gaining some momentum, Senators veteran Derek Stepan flipped the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty.

Winnipeg scored on the ensuing power play to take the lead.

"I'm a veteran guy brought in here to be a leader, I can't take a penalty like that,” he said to the media after the game. “That lands on me, I feel like I let the group down."

Young mistakes? Perhaps. That doesn’t mean young players are making them.

Let’s face it, the Senators are going to have a tough season. They’ll likely finish last because the Canadian Division is very strong. But it should be more exciting than years past, they’re turning the corner on the lowest point in franchise history thanks to an abundance of youth talent in the system.

So why aren’t players like Erik Brannstrom (21), Logan Brown (22), and Filip Chlapik (23) given a chance to play? They’ve all proven they can play in the minors, now’s the time to give them a chance to develop in the big leagues even if there are growing pains.

It’s not like the team is winning with vets in their place anyway. Artem Anisimov (32) was on the ice for the Jets overtime goal on Tuesday and was too slow to cover Nikolaj Ehlers who scored the winner. He also made crucial giveaways in the last five minutes on Thursday night. I expect someone else to get a shot tonight.

Some positives from last week:

Elsewhere around the league:

Looking ahead:

Monday, January 25 at Vancouver (10 pm)

Wednesday, January 27 at Vancouver (8 pm)

Thursday, January 28 at Vancouver (10 pm)

Sunday, January 31 at Edmonton (9 pm)

The Senators continue on their first road trip of the season, with three games in Vancouver and one in Edmonton this week. Vancouver is coming off two straight losses to Montreal, and much like Ottawa has struggled to start the season. Both teams will desperately be looking for a win, Ottawa needs to come away with some points if they still plan to be competitive in this division.

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