The Ottawa Senators came into today sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference in the standings, losers of three straight. That included a 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in their last game, one of their worst efforts of the season. Surely they came out flying today, right? Wrong! They had an abysmal first period, going down 2-0 and being outshot 16-6. From there, though, the Senators played great, outshooting the Capitals 26-13 in the final two periods, and coming back to win 4-3 on a late Fabian Zetterlund goal. Let’s dive into the details on the Senators come from behind victory.
Physical Play Leads the Way
The Senators average over 23 hits per 60 minutes, good for fifth most in the NHL. In their loss to the Blue Jackets, they registered just 18 hits. Today, finishing their checks was clearly part of the game plan. They outhit the Capitals 32-15, with nine Sens players registering at least two hits. Leading the way, with 4 hits each: Perron, Stutzle, and Kleven. Drake Batherson also deserves a lot of credit by stepping up to fight Justin Sourdif after a Sourdif hit left Thomas Chabot bleeding.
Chabot’s Strong Game
As mentioned above, Chabot was rocked with a hit early in the game. With blood rolling down his cheek, he had himself a great game. He played just under 23 minutes, and picked up an assist on Zetterlund’s game winner with a great play through the offensive zone. Chabot is at his best when he is firmly engaged in the action, and using his skating ability to move the puck up the ice. It’s not ideal for him to take too many hits like the one he took early today, but it did seem to awaken the best version of himself.
Additional Notes
After a tough start to the season, Fabian Zetterlund is now up to 10 goals in 39 games, putting him on pace for over 20 goals. It was nice to see Ridly Greig score, just his fifth of the season. It wasn’t pretty, but those are the type of goals you expect from Greig as a gritty, hard-nosed player. Tim Stutzle’s assist on the Zetterlund winner pushes his point streak to 11 games. He has 18 points during that stretch. Next up for the Senators, a home game against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
