What Really “WENT WRONG” For The Ottawa Senators

What Really “WENT WRONG” For The Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators, a team that had the potential to go on a run in the postseason, but in the end came up just short. This season has had its ups and downs for Ottawa. They started out the year slowly looking to break free from the land of mediocrity that they’ve been stuck in for so long, but in the end, I think they achieved a small part of their goal despite losing in the first round. While Ottawa has the talent at nearly every position to be a legitimate contender in the future, there still seems to be some holes within their lineup and overall game plan that need to be addressed. So, following Ottawa’s elimination from the postseason after making the playoffs for the first time in 8 years, let’s look at their future, the core of this young team, and what this loss will mean for them as they continue to develop. [Music] What a fun story it’s been for the Ottawa Senators this year. And if you’re someone who watched this team throughout the entire season and you’re feeling down about the playoffs, yes, it sucks that you got eliminated, but just getting back into the postseason is a huge accomplishment. Now, moving forward, I’m hoping that Ottawa’s management can recognize the milestone that this team reached and continue to build off of it by adding some players who can help out this core. But realistically, the only reason anyone believed Ottawa was going to win this series is because they were facing off against the Toronto Maple Leafs. And we all know their history in the playoffs. It’s not exactly clutch. But today, I want to go through this entire series for the Ottawa Senators and recap their season, talking about why this was a huge year for the team and why you, as a fan, should be proud of this organization. Like I do in all of these videos, let’s start by congratulating the Toronto Maple Leafs for their series win. In this matchup, it was a big moment for Toronto, who has been criticized a lot for their inability to step up in the biggest moments. But this time around, Toronto showed why experience is so important throughout the playoffs. In games one through three, they were the more composed team compared to the Senators, and their ability to close out those games put Ottawa in a nearly impossible situation. Takeaways for the Leafs. The core four looked really solid throughout this matchup, stepping up at different points in this series. But the one thing I’m really concerned about for them is their power playing consistencies, which I think will only get worse against a Florida Panthers team that is much deeper defensively than Ottawa. On a more positive note though, their depth has been pretty incredible throughout the postseason so far. But more specifically, guys like Matthew Ny will need to continue with their hot play for Toronto to extend this playoff run. Defensively, I like the Leafs at some moments, but at others, I felt like they were just decent, which I don’t think will be good enough for them to go deep in the playoffs. I think they’ll need to clean up some of their mistakes because a team like Ottawa was a layup compared to what they have awaiting them in round two. Lastly, Stlars was a beast, and it’s nice to see that the Leafs finally have representable goalending. Having an easier first round matchup was great for him to gain some confidence and now facing his former team may be a good thing for Stoleie depending on how you want to look at it. All in all, a good win for the Toronto Maple Leafs. You won the Atlantic Division and were handed a much easier first round matchup and you took care of business. But don’t sleep on the Florida Panthers. Until someone beats them, they are still the best team in the East and should be everyone’s cup favorite until proven otherwise. Now, let’s flip over to the other side and break down everything surrounding the Ottawa Senators. The Ottawa Senators accomplished their overarching season goal of ending an 8-year playoff drought. Days later, when they learned they’d be facing against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the hype surrounding this matchup seemed to be embraced by this young core as they were the underdogs and welcomed the challenge. For players, this was an opportunity for them to experience meaningful games for the first time in their careers. But specifically for Brady Kachchuck, this was an opportunity for him to make his highly anticipated playoff debut. And while it did take a game or two for him to find his identity, eventually he used his emotions to help lean into the spectacle of the playoffs, becoming a huge differencemaker and showing us that he’s going to be a bright star for the future in Ottawa. The first half of this series, the Senators showed their inexperience. Sloppy penalties, defensive lapses, and mismanagement of the puck gifted the Leafs with a handful of opportunities, which they capitalized to take that 3- 0 series lead. Games four through six were much more representable of this team as a whole, the team that clawed their way into the playoffs in a tight Eastern Conference race. Grabbing game four at home, it was a good start, but really stealing game five in a dominant fashion was Ottawa’s way of giving back to their fan base for all of their support throughout the season. Sense fans entered game six with every reason to believe that their team could force a game seven and complete what would be an historic comeback. Ottawa looked shaky at times and down their lineup. They just couldn’t generate any positive momentum from their power play and their penalty kill. It wore down at the worst possible time. For Lena, he didn’t get the best of Stallars. And unfortunately for the Ottawa Senators, their season would come to an end. Despite losing this series, I still think there’s a lot to be optimistic about when it comes to this team. Experience in the postseason is invaluable, and it’s really nice to see that this team’s best player in Brady Kachchuck did not shy away from the biggest moments. Now, moving forward, I do trust in Ottawa’s management to put together a more impactful roster next year. maybe add a few players that are complimentary to this team because there are a few holes within this lineup that I think Ottawa needs to plug if they want to get back to this position and hopefully win a playoff series next time around. So, let’s talk about those areas that need to be addressed for Ottawa and how they can continue to build off of this momentum. Defensively, outside of Sanderson, of course, who was a beast during this run, I was pretty unimpressed by Ottawa’s decor. Shabbat looked sloppy and never really found his footing and the other guys like Zub and Jensen were just pretty average. The Sentence will have over $18 million in cap space to play within the off season. And while they do have expiring contracts and players like Clo Ru, Adam Goddet, and restricted free agent Fabian Zeterlin, I still think that they’re a piece away from being a legitimate contender or a team that could get out of the first round. The Sentence could use another topline talent or if you want to look at their back end, maybe a top four defenseman. Dylan Cousins was a nice ad, but maybe expanding off of this and adding one more piece could be beneficial to the team. A guy I would like to see them kick tires on is potentially Male Granlin when he’s done with his stint with the Dallas Stars this playoffs. He’s going to be a free agent and would be a nice addition adding some goal scoring to their top six. Or hey, if you want to go even further and make a bigger splash, you don’t resign some of those other expiring contracts and you look over to the team that just beat you and try to sign one of their stars in Marner or Tiveres or even further flirt with the idea of sending an offer sheet over to Matthew Ny. With all that being said, this is a very positive year for the Ottawa Senators and you as a fan should be very proud of this group and what the future has in store. I will say this off seasonason they’re going to have their work cut out for them with teams like Boston, the Rangers, and Pittsburgh all nipping at their heels to get back into the playoffs. But I do believe in this management group and I think that they’re going to do the right thing and surround this core with even better pieces. But let me know what you guys think about the Ottawa Senators and their season. Are you feeling optimistic about the future? And what grade would you give this group? Thank you guys so much for watching this video. If you enjoyed this one, give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel. I will see you guys in the next episode.

Today let’s delve into one of the most feel good stories of the NHL season ad breakdown the Ottawa Senators. The Senators finally took that step with their young core to make the playoffs for the first time in over 8 years. Despite losing in the first round the Senators have gained some valuable experience with this run, and based on how talented their young core is I think it’s safe to say that the future is bright in Ottawa. So let’s breakdown and analyze this season and playoff run for the Senators to see what the future will look like for this promising franchise. Subscribe to Jimmy Hockey for more NHL News and Breakdowns.

TikTok:

@jimmyhockeyy

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/jimmyhockeyy/

#nhl #hockey #stanleycupplayoffs #icehockey #hockeyhighlights #montrealcanadiens #hockeyvideos #goldenknights #edmontonoilers #nhlplayoffs #nhlhockey #connorbedard #chicagoblackhawks #vancouvercanucks #washingtoncapitals #montrealcanadiens #ottawasenators