OTTAWA - The Ottawa Senators’ latest win didn’t just add two points to the ledger. It showed a team that knows how to ride out the turbulence.
Saturday’s 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers was the kind of game that can spin out fast after a big lead slips, but Ottawa kept its footing. The Senators opened up a 3-0 advantage early in the second period, then saw that cushion shrink to 4-3 by the end of the frame. Instead of chasing the game, they settled back into their structure and finished the job.
Head coach Travis Green said he could feel the tone change once Ottawa moved ahead.
“We got like five per cent loose or less competitive, and that happens a lot when you get a lead, and it’s something you have to guard against, especially against a hardworking team,” Green said. “Sometimes it’s that five or 10 per cent that just kind of turns the table a little bit, and you can feel the game turning a bit.”
The Rangers came hard in the third, but the Senators didn’t get pulled out of shape. They blocked shots, limited the dangerous looks and refused to let the moment get away from them.
“I think you know, game’s never over ’til it’s over,” said Jake Sanderson. “You saw they had their push, they had their chances, and you know, I think credit to us not to give up and cave, and just keep pushing through ’til the end.”
For Sanderson, the response said as much about the group as the result itself. He pointed to the maturity Ottawa showed after things tightened up in the second period.
“I think when you talk about the growth of this group, you know, bearing down, knowing how important these games are early in the season because you know a win’s a win whether it’s at the start of the season or at the end,” he said. “So you know, I’ll take it.”
The Senators now head into a five-game, 11-day road trip, and they may have to lean on backup goaltending for much of it. Linus Ullmark was placed on injured reserve earlier in the week and is expected to miss at least a couple games. The earliest he could return is Thursday.
That put a spotlight on Jonas Johansson, who made his Senators debut Saturday and handled the moment well when it counted.
Picked up in late September, the 31-year-old had been with Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville, Ont., and he still doesn’t know the room all that well. Even so, he made a strong first impression.
“I thought he did a real good job getting out of the crease and stopping some of their rims,” Green said. “You know, rim forecheck is hard to defend against, and he did a real nice job.”
Sanderson noticed Johansson’s puck-handling, too.
“I think it’s pretty gutsy for a goalie to do, especially his first game with an organization,” he said. “It was a huge help tonight.”
Johansson has more than 100 NHL games behind him, so the nerves of a first impression don’t exactly catch him off guard. He said he tried to keep things simple.
“I just try not to change the way I play, I just try to do my best out there for whatever team I play for,” said Johansson. “I mean, I’m really happy to be here. There’s a great group of guys in here, and a really good team.”
He also has some built-in familiarity with the goaltending circle around him. Johansson previously played with Ullmark in Buffalo and spent much of the summer training with Ersson.
Thomas Chabot will travel with the team, and Green is hopeful he could be ready to play at some point on the trip.
In Other News...
Senators Suddenly Face A Bigger Early Test Than The Standings Show
The early-season picture in Ottawa has become a little more complicated than the standings alone might suggest. The Senators are working through an injury pileup that includes captain Thomas Chabot on a short-term absence with an upper-body injury, while several other players have already come off injured reserve and back into the lineup, giving the club at least some relief as it tries to keep its footing.
The biggest concern, though, is in goal, where Linus Ullmark is now part of the mix on injured reserve after being expected to miss at least the next stretch of games. For a team still trying to settle into its rhythm, losing a starting goalie changes the tenor of the schedule quickly, especially with a few other absences still lingering and the group already being asked to absorb more early-season strain than it probably wanted this soon. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Just Opened A Roster Decision Fans Should Watch
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If he passes through unclaimed, Ottawa will have a straightforward path to send him to the AHL and create some room on the books. For a team still sorting out the edges of its roster, that kind of move is less about headlines than flexibility, and it gives the Senators another lever to pull as they continue shaping the back end of the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Have A Big Opening Against A Rangers Team Running Thin
The Senators head into their matchup with the Rangers facing a familiar kind of early-season test, one that could tell them a lot about where the lineup stands after a few tweaks. Andreas Burakovsky is back in the fourth-line rotation, and captain Thomas Chabot was on the ice in a yellow non-contact jersey, a reminder that Ottawa is still managing some moving parts as it gets ready for a division opponent.
New York is dealing with its own issues, and the crease situation alone changes the feel of the game for Ottawa. With both Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick unavailable, the Rangers are expected to turn to Dylan Garand or Spencer Martin, which gives the Senators a chance to press an opening against a thin lineup and make their depth count in a game that could tilt quickly if they come out sharp. [Read more 🡒]