Anton Forsberg and the Ottawa Senators fired a 2-0 blank at the Seattle Kraken Saturday night.
Here are three takeaways from the Senators' 2-0 win over Seattle Saturday night.
1. If the Senators get goaltending, they are tough to play against
On Saturday, Anton Forsberg was a brick wall, stopping all 39 Seattle Kraken shots against him. Heading into the game Saturday night, the Senators had the 26th-best team save percentage in the NHL. Forsberg had the worst save percentage in the NHL (among goalies with at least five starts). If Forsberg and or Korpisalo can string together more consistent play and the Senators go from 26th to closer to the middle of the pack in save percentage, they will leap into becoming a good hockey team.
2. Mathieu Joseph shines as Ottawa's most consistent player
Joseph's goal on Saturday gives him 16 points in 19 games. He has been playing the best hockey of his career. Not only is he fully healthy this year, he told the Hockey News Ottawa earlier this week that the game has slowed down for him.
"I'm not rushing my plays as much as the past couple years," Joseph said. "I think the big difference for me is my poise so far this year. I think I hold on to the puck a little bit more."
That poise was in full effect on Saturday when he stole the puck off Matty Beniers in front of the Kraken net and waited out goalie Joey Daccord, putting it over his blocker. The Joseph of last year probably wouldn't have scored there. He's already halfway to his career high in points, which was 30 in the 2021-22 season. He leads the Senators in plus-minus with a +11. It's incredible to think that, just two months ago, people thought of Joseph as a possible salary dump candidate for the cap-strapped Senators.
3. Special teams are key
The Senators had an up-and-down game in terms of their special teams play. They killed off all three Kraken power plays, including two late in the third period. The Senators had the 30th-best penalty kill coming into the game Saturday night but were able to subdue the Kraken's power play effectively.
Meanwhile, the Senators power play is still cold. They are 4-31 in the past seven games and are now in the bottom third of the league. DJ Smith admitted earlier this week that the Senators aren't going to win a lot unless that improves. The Senators were better Saturday but still have plenty to improve upon.
Case in point: the New York Rangers have the NHL's third-best power play and seventh-best penalty-killing unit. At 17-4-1, the Rangers stand first overall in the NHL and visit Ottawa on Tuesday night.