Senators-Hurricanes Series Recap: Where did the Sens go Wrong?

One other guy I’d like to mention: Jalen Chatfield. In the series preview, I brought up 16 Hurricanes. Chatfield was not one of them. In my eyes, he may be the most underrated player in the NHL. He’s rarely ever discussed, yet every game he gives the Canes 20 plus minutes of effort, energy, and intelligent hockey. He averaged over 23 minutes per game in the series, including 4:38 per game shorthanded. One last thing- Jaccob Slavin is a monster defensively. Now, onto the Sens.

Senators Strengths: Ullmark & the Defensive Play

Let’s start with the good. Linus Ullmark was brilliant, stopping 124 of the 133 shots he faced. He ended the series with a .933 SV%. Here were his save percentages in the four games:

• .931, .939, .926, .929

He came up with several brilliant saves over the course of the series. It actually feels impossible to be swept given how well Ullmark played. For a guy that battled through a rough season that included some time away for personal reasons, at least Ullmark is ending his year playing his best hockey as a Senator.

As for the defensive side of the ice, the Senators stood strong. They gave up just 11 goals in around 14 periods, with two of those being empty netters. Their penalty kill surrendered two goals on 15 Hurricane power plays, for an 86.7% success rate. They did all this without Zub for most of the series, Sanderson for a game and a half, and Kleven for the first two games. Let’s not forget that Nick Jensen, a regular for most of the season, was out for the playoffs as well.

Having to play 10 defensemen in a four game series is a recipe for disaster, but the Sens fought hard on their own side of the ice. A key to their success is how much the forwards care about the defensive side of the game. For the Hurricanes, this was probably like playing a version of themselves. A lesser version of course, but at least the Sens showed a willingness to defend all the way to the end.

Senators Scoring Woes

The Senators finished the regular season eighth in goals, averaging 3.35 per game. They proceeded to score five goals in just under 14 periods of hockey in this series. Here’s how bad things went from an offensive perspective, compared to the season:

• Season: 11.6 shooting %, 24% power play
• Playoffs: 4.5 shooting %, 4.8% power play

The Senators shot total in the four games was the following: 22, 39, 21, 27.

Keep in mind, the 39 shot game went to double overtime. So there were two issues at play- the Senators weren’t generating enough shots, and with the shots that they did generate, they had extremely poor finish. There are so many examples of this- Batherson and Tkachuk both should have tied game one down low. Stützle should have opened the scoring in game two. Both he and Amadio should have won game two in overtime. Tkachuk should have tied game three. The list goes on and on.

In the end, only two Senators scored in the series- Batherson with three and Cozens with two. Given their poor performances in last year’s first round, at least they were able to find some offense this year, in a year where no one else was able to.

The Struggles of Stützle and Tkachuk

Here were the final statlines for the Senators two star forwards:

• Stützle: 4 games, 0 goals, 1 point, -4, 25:31 time on ice/game
• Tkachuk: 4 games, 0 goals, 0 points, -4, 21:31 time on ice/game

I’d say you can’t win if your star players don’t produce, but the Hurricanes just won with Jarvis, Svechnikov and Ehlers being held without a goal. I guess it makes more sense to say this: you can’t win without your star players producing, unless the depth players step up massively.

Stankoven and Hall carried the offense load for the Hurricanes. Martinook came up clutch in game two, and Blake in game three. The whole team was fantastic defensively. For the Senators, other than Batherson, no one stood out offensively. As the highest paid forwards and the two guys on the ice for all key offensive situations, the blame mainly falls on Tkachuk and Stützle.

Both had a few glorious chances, but coming close counts for nothing. They were both equally poor on the pathetic Senators power play, and they were both lackluster on the defensive side of the ice. Here’s my unsolicited advice for both guys. For Tkachuk, he needs to go back to playing with a combination of passion and anger. He is too performative at times. He’s too passive at times as well. A player with his skillset should never have a quiet game. How he played in game four is the Tkachuk that this team needs going forward.

As for Stützle, I really believe the Senators need to find him a highly skilled linemate to unleash the best version of him. He tries to do it all himself at times, and he becomes visibly frustrated when it’s not working. From a stylistic perspective, he wants to play like McDavid and MacKinnon. For that, he needs to become stronger, making him tougher to knock off the puck.

Final Thoughts

When a team is swept, there isn’t as much of a “what could have been” feel to things. It’s clear that the Senators need to become a better hockey team. This will be a big offseason for Steve Staios and company. Pretty well the entire core is signed at least through next year. They will have cap space and a great chance to push into true contender status with a strong offseason.

I will end with this- as much as it hurts to trade good players away, Staios tried to keep the same group together this season and in the end, the Senators are at the same spot as they were a year ago. Don’t forget that the Florida Panthers traded away Jonathan Huberdeau, a 115 point player at the time and one of their franchises all time greats, to elevate their team to the next level. That led to two Stanley Cups. Steve Staios, it’s time to think big.

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