Shining a spotlight on the Senators' goaltending, dealing with adversity, and picking their spots better.
The Ottawa Senators were on a nice five game run (3-0-2) but in a 7-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday night, they looked a lot more like the team that limped its way through the first half of the NHL season. After grabbing a 2-0 lead, the Sens collapsed and allowed seven unanswered goals.
Here are three takeaways from a dismal night at the CTC.
The Captain Needs to Pick His Spots Better
The Senators had just taken a 2-0 lead and were paying great. In those circumstances, it’s generally frowned upon to accept invitations to fight from an opponent who wants to try and spark his team.
Brady Tkachuk was the one who initiated a fight.
Connor Mackey knocked Tim Stutzle over with a firm, clean body check. So Tkachuk challenged him to a fight. While Tkachuk was the busier fighter, landing some beauties, Mackey knocked him down at the end. And for a player making his season debut tonight, that surely inspired his teammates on the Rangers bench. Not only that, Tkachuk’s line had been crushing it. While the captain was sitting out five for fighting with a Rangers minor leaguer, New York scored three goals to take the lead.
No one wants Tkachuk to be someone else, but he has the second most penalty minutes in the NHL. Not ideal.
Still Fragile After All These Years
After a shaky second-period goal for the Rangers to tie the game, there was still half a game to play. But the Senators might as well have skated off the ice right there and hit the showers. Mentally, they did. They went right into a woe-is-us, here-we-go-again mindset and the Rangers blew the doors off the CTC with seven straight goals. Despite recent improvements in play, here is still mental fragility in Ottawa.
Goaltending is a Big Issue
Former Sens GM Pierre Dorion inherited Craig Anderson but never did find Andy's heir apparent. Joonas Korpisalo looks good for long stretches, but has a penchant for leaky goals. Those kinds of goals, like the one Chris Kreider scored tonight, murder team confidence, particularly for a team like the Senators who are still trying to repair theirs. At the moment, it's hard to picture Korpisalo as the solution between the pipes. But time will tell.