Coming off a tough loss against the Rangers last night, the Sens have dropped to 13th in the conference, though that’s extremely misleading as there’s only two points separating Ottawa from 2nd in the Atlantic. Here are some thoughts and observations, both positive and less positive heading into the weekend rematch with the Blues, along with thoughts on the Charge and the Milan Olympics.

The Goalies Are Improving, Slowly

At the one third mark of the season, the Senators goalies are still struggling to keep the puck out of the net, but both have seen their save percentages slowly improve as the season has gone on. Linus Ullmark, in particular, has numbers that are unacceptable for the contract he’s got, with an .876 SV% through 20 games. His numbers improved in November, from a save percentage of .862 to .887 and .909 in his lone December outing. While his save percentage still looks ugly, he has been a positive difference maker more often in the last month, keeping the team in games and even stealing a couple of wins, even if his numbers don’t necessarily reflect that. Leevi Meriläinen’s numbers are identical to Ullmark’s but with only seven games played, it’s a much smaller sample size. He too has had some incredible performances, sandwiched between some forgettable ones, and if you remove his abysmal, seven goal, first game against the Sabres his save percentage jumps from .876 to .899. While both goalies have not been good enough, they have been slowly improving as the year goes on, and hopefully that continues. If the Sens can get stronger goaltending to go along with their strong play, they could be a real wagon and a sneaky threat come playoff time.

The Penalty Kill Is Still A Problem

Early in the season, the Senators special teams were the team’s Achilles’ Heel, with the penalty kill in particular letting them down, at a putrid 60%. The team’s penalty kill numbers on the season have technically improved but are still atrocious, sitting 31st at 68.8%. The diamond formation, while still being used by the team, has been changing to a hybrid system, incorporating a more aggressive style and becoming less passive. Thus far, there have been some improvements but the numbers need to rise considerably for the Sens to maintain their playoff pace. Keeping the penalty kill tactics simple and aggressive should be a top priority for Travis Green and Nolan Baumgartner.

The Sens Depth Is Being Tested

Thomas Chabot has missed the last six games, after a premature return from an upper body injury he suffered in the game against the Stars, before the team went on their seven-game road trip. With the news that Artem Zub, Lars Eller, and possibly Shane Pinto could be out for the foreseeable future, the Senators depth will be put to an even bigger test. Dennis Gilbert will fill the spot on defence until one of Zub or Chabot is ready, as the team is rightly set on ensuring 2024 1st rounder Carter Yakemchuk isn’t thrust into a situation he isn’t ready for. The next call up on defence will likely be Lassi Thomson if further injuries occur. Up front, things get a bit more interesting, as Travis Green has a few options to choose from. Arthur Kaliyev has been an absolute force for Belleville this season, scoring 14 goals and setting 4th overall in league scoring, with 23 points in 21 games, however, he doesn’t fit the profile of a Travis Green 4th liner. He would be my call up but Green may opt for a return of Olle Lycksell or Hayden Hodgson, for a more imposing bottom line. Steve Staios and Dave Poulin made a point of signing a number of depth options this summer and with the injuries the team has dealt with so far, it was wise of them to do so.

The Charge Are Who We Thought They Were

Coming into the new PWHL season, most pundits felt that the Ottawa Charge were due for a big regression. They had their defence corps decimated in the expansion draft, and had their most dangerous offensive players leave in free agency. Four games into their season, the team has one regulation win and three regulation losses, getting outscored 2-12 in those three losses. The team’s goaltending is still solid with playoff hero Gwyneth Philips continuing her strong play from last season while facing upwards of 30 shots per game. The defence is really feeling the departures of Ashton Bell and Aneta Tejralová, as they haven’t been able to shut down the opposition as effectively as they did last season. Up front, the biggest question mark was whether the Russian duo of Anna Shokina, taken in the 2nd round, and her linemate, Fanuza Kadirova, taken in the 6th round, could make an immediate offensive impact. Thus far, neither player has been the dynamo the Charge hoped they might be off the hop. It is still incredibly early and both players needs to be given some runway to adjust to playing the North American game, so hopefully both can get up to speed quickly and turn the Ottawa’s season around.

The Olympic Rink Is Pretty Small

Apparently, the rink in Milan, where most of the hockey games will be played, is going to be small for NHL players. The Milan Olympics have been having trouble getting their ice rink up to snuff in time for the Games, which are only a couple of months away. Apparently, this has been influencing the roster decisions of national team management for both Team Canada and Team USA. The Sens seem likely to be contributing four players to the Olympic Tournament with Brady Tkachuk, Jake Sanderson, and Tim Stützle being locks for Team USA and Team Germany respectively. Linus Ullmark may get a call, although his play thus far may leave him on the outside looking in. If the rink is going to be smaller, that will work in favour of more physical players, who may be less fleet of foot as there will be less room to skate. As a Sens fan with vivid memories of the last Italian Olympics, along with the 4 Nations Face-Off, I’d be perfectly fine will all Sens players enjoying a couple of weeks off instead.