The Ottawa Senators have six days to get their act together.

The good news for the Senators is that the results of pre-season games are meaningless, but they were no match for the St. Louis Blues in a 7-1 loss on Thursday night at the Enterprise Center.

Coming off a 5-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, the Senators picked up where they left off in Quebec City by delivering a subpar performance at a time, they should be gearing up for the start of the season next Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Coach Travis Green and his staff have a lot to work on.

Only Fabian Zetterlund was able to beat St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington on the 37 shots he faced. It was the second straight game where the Senators came apart at the seams, and they have only one pre-season game left on Saturday at the Bell Centre against the Habs.

“I don’t think there’s much to say. We’ve got to tighten up defensively,” winger Ridly Greig told reporters in St. Louis.

A lot has been made of the club’s inability to score at 5-on-5 last season, and that trend has continued through camp.

The Senators had chances, but Binnington was solid. It took a while for the Senators to find their legs, but Binnington did a good job of shutting the door.

Ottawa has only two goals on a goaltender in five pre-season games, but the club’s play without the puck was awful. They weren’t good defensively in this one at all.

LEEVI GETS CHASED

The Senators went back to Leevi Merilainen for the second straight night, and the plan was for him to play 60 minutes.

He wasn’t good at all, giving up all five goals on 23 shots against the Habs, and this was an opportunity for redemption.

That didn’t materialize; Merialinen was pulled after giving up six goals on 19 shots. He didn’t have much help before Mads Sogaard came in to clean up the final 23 minutes.

“He had a tough night, but we didn’t help on some of the coverages,” Green said.

Merilainen had a tough start to this one.

He gave up three goals on six shots. Robert Thomas gave the Blues a 3-0 lead at 7:37 of the first by firing it into an empty net after Merilainen made the initial save on an odd-man rush.

Oskar Sundqvist beat Merilainen high to the glove side with the second goal he surrendered in three shots at 5:59.

Former Senators winger Mathieu Joseph broke in alone and beat Merilainen through the five-hole at 3:23 of the first. Merilainen had no chance, but you need to get a save.

Merilainen has given 11 goals in his last two starts, and that’s not the kind of reliable goaltending the Senators need behind Linus Ulmark.

“I thought we were a little nervous to start the game, and then I thought we settled in,” Green said. “I don’t think the score was indicative of how the game was played. We had a lot of good chances. They scored on a lot of chances that were self-inflicted.”

LINE DANCE

Green has been using many different combinations throughout camp and even put his lines in a blender in this one.

Veteran Claude Giroux has played with Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle through much of camp, but Zetterlund was on the right side to start the game. He played there a couple of times last year, and that’s the way it could shape up to start the season.

That line was the only trio the club had that included three players who were all in the NHL last season. Zetterlund has a chance to make an impact for the Senators as a top-six forward, and he’s in the mix to be a winger there with Giroux.

Zetterlund scored his second of the pre-season to get Ottawa on the board 45 seconds into the third to cut the St. Louis lead to 6-1.

“We’re working hard out there,” said Zetterlund. “Everybody wants it.”

It will be interesting to see where this all settles.

RelatedANOTHER LOOK

Decisions have to be made on the Opening Night roster by Monday at 5 p.m. EDT.

Nobody will be able to complain they didn’t get a fair chance if they’re sent to the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville. The boys on the bubble had another opportunity in this one.

We’re not sure if winger Drake Batherson will be ready to start the season, but he did skate on Thursday. Forward Lars Eller could suit up against the Habs on Saturday, along with defenceman Nick Jensen.

Green has to look at all his options.

Forwards Ollie Lycksell and Arthur Kaliyev suited up for their fifth straight pre-season game, along with blueliner Donovan Sebrango, who is pushing for a seventh spot or to be a call-up.

Lycksell and Kaliyev both had good chances. Kaliyev looked hungry to push for a spot and thought he had scored in the third. He’s in the mix with Zack MacEwen, who brings the rugged element this club needs, along with gritty centre Jan Jenik.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com