Blown leads continue to plague the Senators' disappointing season. This team's inability to manage momentum and maintain discipline demands some accountability.
Blowing a multi-goal lead 3 times in 4 games seems like a perfect recipe for a disaster of a season.
That’s exactly what the Ottawa Senators have done in the past 6 days, punctuating what is quickly becoming one of the most underwhelming seasons in recent franchise history.
It’s shocking that we got here so quickly. Just last season, the Senators were cheered off the ice after a heartbreaking Game 6 loss to the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. It was the franchise’s first postseason appearance since 2017.
It felt as if the core group of players had reached the level of maturity required to be consistent playoff contenders.
But what this past week has shown is that this is still a team and a coaching staff that do not know how to handle momentum swings in a game.
The game in Nashville, which the Senators once lead 3-0, fell apart in a span of 2 minutes.
After killing off a 4-minute penalty to keep the game 3-1, Tim Stützle had a brilliant charge to the net on a rush but was taken down, with no penalty called.
The play goes back the other way for a Predators 2-on-0.
3-2.
Just 1:20 later, Stützle gets called for cross-checking Steven Stamkos in front of the net.
30 seconds into the power play, Stamkos ties it.
3-3.
This is where I think the loss becomes unacceptable. After the Predators tied the game, the Senators had a power play with a chance to retake the lead. But the top players looked like a herd of deer in the headlights, completely frozen at a moment when they needed to come through.
There were two TV timeouts after that power play. Plenty of time for the Senators to regroup. But the Predators kept coming, and eventually got the game winner.
The Senators were dead the minute Stützle took that penalty. They were lifeless when it was tied with their tail tucked between their legs until Stamkos took them out of their misery with his go-ahead goal.
The meltdown felt like the final straw for a lot of fans. It highlighted the complacency the organization has shown when it comes to the team’s penalty kill, which failed to step up once again.
In each of the 3 losses with blown leads, the Senators allowed 2 power play goals against. The easiest way to make your penalty kill better is to take less penalties, and the Senators have been extremely undisciplined as of late.
An undisciplined team with a dreadful penalty kill is usually just a bad team.
The puzzling part is that this coaching staff witnessed their team get completely caved in by the Maple Leafs power play during the playoffs.
The Maple Leafs went 35.3% with the man advantage in the 6-game series.
There were no additions or subtractions to the Senators’ coaching staff this offseason. Whether it’s Nolan Baumgartner or Mike Yeo running the penalty kill, it doesn’t matter. It just hasn’t improved at the 50-game mark of the following season, which is unacceptable.
The only change they’ve made is using Stützle as a regular.
Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub look lost trying to defend whatever system they’re supposed to be playing. Given how good they are at 5v5, the dip in play should be extremely noteworthy.
But don’t bother asking Head Coach Travis Green about his 31st-ranked penalty kill. He’s tired of talking about it.
Something needs to happen.
Steve Staios’ only move this season can’t be signing James Reimer. He needs to do something to send a jolt into this roster, because what we’ve watched happen the past two months is a slap in the face to a fan base that just wants to see a competitive playoff team.
Jack Richardson
The Hockey News Ottawa