Talk about an entertaining season opener! The Senators went to Tampa, played without Batherson and Kleven, took a few bad penalties, went down 3-1, but then turned it all around with a great come from behind 5-4 win. Let’s dive into the details on the Senators first win of the season!
READ MORE: 10 Stats That Show Why the Senators Will Make the Playoffs
Pinto Comes Up Big
Shane Pinto was the Senators best goal scorer through the last 50 games last season. He also grew as a defensive player in that time. Tonight, Pinto picked up right where he left off. Here’s his final statline:
- 2 goals, 1 assist, 19:21 time on ice
Pinto thought he had scored the Sens first goal of the season, but it was waved off because of a high stick. So, he decided to keep his stick down from then on out, and thoroughly dominate at both ends of the rink. He scored the tying goal on a beauty in the second, and then the winner with a grind-it-out type goal in the third. Pinto led Senators forwards in shorthanded minutes, and of course was tasked with closing out the game with the net empty. Oh, and he’s also playing for a new contract. Good start on that front!
Zub’s Big Night
Artem Zub is by no means a nothing-player offensively. He’s more of a new-aged defensive defenseman, focusing primarily on the defensive side of the game while still being capable as a puck mover. Nonetheless, he only managed two goals as 13 points all of last season. That’s what made his opening game surprising. Not only did he score a goal, but he also assisted on Pinto’s goal with a beautiful outlet pass. He then assisted on the empty net goal for a three point night. With Zub slotted in as the Senators top right shot d-man, this was as good a start as anyone could’ve hoped for.
Penalty Kill Struggles
The Senators penalty kill ranked 19th in the NHL last season at just under 78%. The problem with the penalty kill was how slow they seemed to move, and how easy it was for the opposition to move the puck into dangerous scoring spots. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened tonight. It was almost as though the Senators were scared of Nikita Kucherov, giving him way too much time and space with the puck. Tampa Bay ended up going two for three on the power play, creating high quality chance after high quality chance. My unsolicited advice? Be aggressive on the penalty kill. Force the other team to make a few great, quick passes to beat you. Even then, the Senators will still have Linus Ullmark to hopefully bail them out.
Additional Notes
Brady Tkachuk wasn’t the most notable version of himself tonight, but ended up with three assists, five shots, and four hits. That’s the sign of a great player. Speaking of great players, Jake Sanderson is a monster. He ended up playing just over 23 minutes, and recorded two assists, including on the game winner which he created with a great drive to the net. Ullmark gave up three goals in the first. Cozens took a bad penalty which led to one of those goals. Both guys battled back to help the Senators win this game. After giving up 14 first period shots, the Senators gave up just 11 the rest of the way. Next up, the Florida Panthers on Saturday night!
