The Ottawa Senators owe a lot to the University of North Dakota. The institute played a significant role in developing many pieces of this team's young core. During Saturday night's thrilling 4-3 overtime victory, the impact of the North Dakota boys was on full display. Apr 20, 2025: Ottawa Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven (43) hits Leafs forward Bobby McMann (74) during the third period of game one of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/4ce2147f-d9d3-4375-84d6-f71e5d4d8855.jpeg] Apr 20, 2025: Ottawa Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven (43) hits Leafs forward Bobby McMann (74) during the third period of game one of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Senators' maligned penalty kill has been a point of contention all series, but Shane Pinto [https://puckpedia.com/player/shane-pinto] gave the group a huge boost with his shorthanded marker in the game's opening frame that staked the Senators to a 2-0 lead. The centre's goals have been ominous for opponents throughout the season and postseason. After Saturday night's game, the Senators have compiled a 16-0-1 record when Pinto scores, and their all-time record is 35-7-3. Pinto was also an instrumental part of the penalty kill team that killed off Drake Batherson's ill-timed high-sticking double minor in overtime. Another pair of North Dakota products combined on the overtime winner when Batherson fed a streaking Tyler Kleven [https://puckpedia.com/player/tyler-kleven] with a backhand saucer pass in the neutral zone. The hulking defenceman received it, skated down the right side, and surprised Anthony Stolarz [https://puckpedia.com/player/anthony-stolarz] with a sneaky backhand shot. Kleven retrieved the rebound before Morgan Rielly [https://puckpedia.com/player/morgan-rielly] knocked the puck off his stick toward the left point. There, Jake Sanderson [https://puckpedia.com/player/jake-sanderson] collected it and fired a beautiful seeing-eye shot that eluded everyone, beating Stolarz to the far side. Sens Nation Podcast: Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss Brady Tkachuk telling Sens fans after Game 4, "We'll be back!" It was an incredible moment for the young defenceman and the team, but what might be even cooler is how that shift helped shine light on Kleven's play. When asked about Kleven's performance in Game Four, Senators' head coach Travis Green thanked TSN 1200 [https://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-1200]'s AJ Jakubec for bringing his name up. "His game is really growing," Green said. "It's taken off, probably since Christmas, just steadily. You always have a player, as a coach, that you lean on a little bit, maybe give a little tough love to at certain moments. "He was that guy early in the year, and give him a lot of credit; he's stood tall under a little pressure and really has been growing into his own. He's big, he's physical, and smart. Every team that gets to play in the playoffs, they learn a lot about certain individuals, and we're seeing him grow and even take another step with his confidence and his ability." "They give you a leash at times," Kleven stated when asked about this tough love. "Being a younger player, (my) leash can be shortened at times, and I go out there and try to make the right plays. "At times, I don't always make the right play, and (Green) has got to get on me for that. It's all for the right reasons. He has definitely given me a hard time at times, but he's been a great coach this year, and he's helped my game grow." If you have been reading this space for the last few weeks, you have likely seen me reference the performance of the team's bottom four since the start of the calendar year. Since January 1 at five-on-five, per NaturalStatTrick: Thomas Chabot [https://puckpedia.com/player/thomas-chabot]/Nick Jensen [https://puckpedia.com/player/nick-jensen]: 33 GP, 472:13 TOI, 48.40 CF%, 44.64 SF%, 46.67 GF%, and 44.35 xGF% Tyler Kleven [https://puckpedia.com/player/tyler-kleven]/Nick Matinpalo: 37 GP, 353:25 TOI, 46.36 CF%, 43.07 SF%, 44.00 GF%, and 37.12 xGF% It is never ideal when the Senators fail to generate a larger share of the shots (CF%), shots on goal (SF%), total goals (GF%), and expected goals (xGF%) when these pairings are on the ice. After being one of the top pairings in the league between October and December, at least Nick Jensen's undisclosed lower-body injury explains why the Senators' second pairing has struggled. With the Kleven-Matinpalo pairing, there are no apparent reasons for their struggles. However, what is intriguing about Kleven is how his defensive metrics have stacked up this season. HockeyViz's data on Kleven's defensive impacts has been bullish. Hockeyviz.com [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d08895e5-aaa7-42a4-878f-6cebd8acc93d.png] Hockeyviz.com When Kleven is on the ice, the Senators do a great job suppressing the opposition's offence. HockeyViz's data is corroborated by Evolving-Hockey's. According to that site's proprietary 'Total Defence' (DEF) metric, which combines a player's total defensive contributions at five-on-five and on the penalty kill into a single value, only Jake Sanderson [https://puckpedia.com/player/jake-sanderson] and Artem Zub had a bigger defensive impact than Tyler Kleven [https://puckpedia.com/player/tyler-kleven]. As the Senators continue to build their defence, the organization must be encouraged by Kleven's play. Every team in the NHL is searching for a 6'5", 221 lb defenceman who can skate and defend well, and the Senators have developed one internally. The key to any prospective pairing with Kleven moving forward will be to find a competent two-way puck-mover. Ideally, the Senators can find a top-four, right-shot defenceman to partner with Thomas Chabot [https://puckpedia.com/player/thomas-chabot], which would allow Nick Jensen [https://puckpedia.com/player/nick-jensen], who will be turning 35 years old this September, to slide back to the team's third pairing with Kleven. Considering that Jensen only has one season remaining on his contract and that the Senators have Carter Yakemchuk [https://puckpedia.com/player/carter-yakemchuk] in the wings, this would allow the organization to create a natural succession plan for the prospect. Speaking of offensive numbers, one of the wrinkles to the Senators' first round is that the team's first two pairings have yet to be on the ice for a five-on-five Senator goal, while the Kleven-Matinpalo pairing has been on for three. After yesterday's practice, I asked Kleven about that neat fact, but he didn't read too much into the numbers. "At times with me and (Matinpalo) on the ice, we go down and they score," Kleven clarified. "We get credit for the plus, but really it's Sandy or Zub or maybe (Chabot) and Jensen who broke out the puck. "We go up the ice and just happen to be out there for it, but you know it could happen the other way, as well. I don't look at that and don't know if there is any correlation with anything."
