Ottawa Senators: The 12 Feel Good Storylines Of Christmas

With the Christmas season upon us, it's always nice to shine a spotlight on the good things and spread a little joy to the world. On the final Sunday before the big day, here are The 12 Feel Good Sens Storylines of Christmas.

1. With four wins in five games, the Senators haven't had a more successful five-game stretch this season than they're enjoying right now.

2. Thomas Chabot returned from an upper-body injury on Saturday and looked fantastic, flying around and setting up Brady Tkachuk with a gorgeous assist. And talk about 0 to 60. With the injury to Tyler Kleven, Travis Green didn't have the luxury of easing Chabot back in. His time on ice was 26:37, his second highest total of the season.

3. As Tim Stutzle goes, so go the Senators. As December turned cold, so did Stutzle. In the five games from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6, the Senators lost four times, all in regulation, and Stutzle had just one assist. But in the six games since, Stutzle has turned up the heat, scoring 13 points, and the Sens are 4-2.

4. When Fabian Zetterlund joined the Senators at the deadline last season, he got off to a famously slow start. As he began his three-year, $12.8 million contract this season, Zetterlund remained stuck in first gear with just 3 points in 17 games. However, in the last 17 games, he has scored 6 goals and recorded 10 points, providing a glimpse of what he was like in San Jose and what he can be again.

5. Arthur Kaliyev leads the AHL with 19 goals. At some point, Kaliyev is going to force the Senators to circle back on him. He continues to snipe it up down on the farm with 29 points in 28 games.

6. Having Brady Tkachuk back and healthy again is huge, and like Chabot, the captain hasn't missed a beat. Since returning from a thumb injury, he has 11 points in 9 games. And with the Sens winning four of their last five, we can now dismiss the goofy dialogue about the Senators being a better team when Tkachuk isn't in the lineup.

7. After family health issues and injuries unravelled his first season in Ottawa, it's great to see David Perron back contributing offensively at the expected pace. Perron has five points in his last five games and already has more points (18) than he had last season.

8. Mike Amadio is establishing himself as one of the club most reliable forwards. Always on the right side of the puck, consistently winning puck battles, and even adding a little more offensive flair. He's finished each of the last three NHL seasons with exactly 27 points but this year he's on pace for 36. Amadio's average time on ice this season is 1:31 higher than any season in his career.

9. Drake Batherson was on a point-per-game tear and all-star game bound in 2021-22 when his season was interrupted by a high ankle sprain. Thanks again, Aaron Dell. Since then, Batherson has been steady, with point production in the 60s in each of the past three years. This season, with 32 points in 31 games, he has a chance to jump up to the 80s for the first time. Not bad for a guy who makes $4,975,000.

10. What else can you say about Jake Sanderson? On pace for 63 points, he just gets better and better. His skating ability is like a cheat code has been entered on every shift. Only four men in the entire league (Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Miro Heiskanen, and Ivan Provorov) get more ice time than he does (25:17). Sanderson is even slightly ahead of Cale Makar.

11. Linus Ullmark is hacking away at his bloated goaltending stats from the early part of the season. He's now won 3 games in a row, including his first shutout of the season, and has his goals against back down under 3 (2.89) 

12. Through games on Dec. 20, the Senators have 38 points, which is exactly what they had on Dec. 20 last season. Of course, that was a season when they broke their seven-year playoff drought, so while they're still three points out right now, that bodes well for their postseason aspirations in the new year.

There they are, your 12 Feel Good Storylines of Christmas... with no partridge to clean up after.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa

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