Goaltending struggles continue to plague the Senators and they'll need a major improvement to have any playoff hopes this spring.
After an 8-2 beatdown at the hands of the league-best Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, the Ottawa Senators are falling behind in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
But is the season lost?
There are very few things to like about the Senators’ game as of late, specifically since the holiday break.
League ranks during that stretch:
- 2-5-0 (30th)
- 11.5% PP (24th)
- 79.3% PK (17th)
- .825 team sv% (31st)
- 32 goals against (31st)
- 31.3 shots per game (4th)
- 26.1 shots against per game (10th)
Forgive me for beating a dead horse, but the glaring issue all season has been amplified in these seven games since Christmas. The league’s worst goaltending has somehow gotten even worse.
It coincides with starting goalie Linus Ullmark taking a personal leave of absence from the team on December 28th, putting the burden of steadying the ship on Leevi Meriläinen’s shoulders, and the 23-year-old has not been up to the task at all.
He’s been pulled twice in his last three starts, rocking a .857 sv% and 3.67 goals against average since the holiday break. In the two games Meriläinen was pulled, the Senators were forced to rely on their goaltending depth, which President and General Manager Steve Staios claimed he was comfortable with just a few weeks ago.
Hunter Shepard put up a .833 sv% in relief against the Detroit Red Wings and earned the loss.
Mads Søgaard was lit up for 5 goals on 16 shots in relief against the Avalanche and did not finish the game. He was sent to the minors on Saturday with Shepard returning to Ottawa.
In the aftermath of these performances, the Senators signed 37-year-old goaltender James Reimer to a PTO contract with the club’s affiliate in Belleville. Without a timeline on Ullmark’s return and Meriläinen’s consistent struggles, there is reason to believe Reimer will have an opportunity to seize control of the crease in Ottawa.
If Reimer can step in and provide numbers even slightly below his last two seasons in Detroit and Buffalo, the Senators will win a lot more games.
But has the putrid goaltending done too much damage already?
As of January 10th, the Senators are 6 points back of the second wild card spot in the East, and there are six other teams to jump. It’s not an impossible mountain to climb, but they need to get hot, and they need some help in the standings.
Next 7 games:
Jan. 10 vs Florida Panthers
Jan. 13 vs Vancouver Canucks
Jan. 14 @ New York Rangers
Jan. 17 vs Montreal Canadiens
Jan. 18 @ Detroit Red Wings
Jan. 20 @ Columbus Blue Jackets
Jan. 22 @ Nashville Predators
This stretch will define the season. Three key divisional matchups and four other games the Senators should have no problem with if they are on their game. Maybe Reimer joins the team for some of these, or Ullmark comes back and finds his game.
But if the goaltending woes continue, the Senators have no chance.
They just need some saves.
Jack Richardson
The Hockey News - Ottawa
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