Three Thoughts: Sens wrap up five games in seven days
© Andrea Cardin
The result put a bow on a week in which the Sens played five games but also included the team's first shorty of the season, as Three Thoughts examines.
Sens wrap up 5 in 7
At the NHL level, it's very rare to see a team play five games in seven days.
But that's what the Ottawa Senators just wrapped up.
The five games were bookended by defeats but most importantly, the team had a three-game winning streak wedged between after victories over Carolina, Colorado and New Jersey.
And when asked about that stretch, Sens head coach D.J. Smith was satisfied with how the past week has played out.
"Five games in seven nights against the teams that we've played, we go on a three-game winning streak [and] do the things we did against some of those teams," he said.
Over the course of the five games, the Sens scored 16 goals at an average of 3.20 a game, much higher than their season average of 2.58.
Buoyed by the play of the team's top line of Drake Batherson, Josh Norris and Brady Tkachuk, the Sens offence has been clicking. Furthermore, the Sens have been tighter defensively and have allowed far less odd man rushes than they did earlier in the season.
"The way our game plan has been evolving, we're not allowing as many scoring chances," Thomas Chabot said. "The way we forecheck, we put pressure on the other team. We hold onto the puck in the offensive zone and you see a lot of shifts where guys are moving around and making good plays and creating a lot of for us."
"Looking back on the five games in seven days we had, I think we've had a good stretch. We're starting to turn things around but [tonight] is still another [game to learn from.]"
Sens get a rest
The Senators have three days between games before they welcome the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning to Canadian Tire Centre Saturday afternoon.
And after a blitz of games over the past week, it's come at a good time.
"We need it," Smith said of a little break. "In our last five games, we've had two back-to-backs. The guys are grinding [but] we'll go back to what we did to be successful in those other games and we'll be much sharper."
The team is off Wednesday but will return to practice Thursday and Friday before playing the Lightning at 1 p.m. Due to the team's crammed schedule, the last time they practiced was Nov. 30.
Outside of the team's Covid-19 break, the three days between games is the biggest gap the Sens have been afforded since having three days off after beating the Stars on Oct. 17.
Of course, the Sens' game in New Jersey Monday, that they won 3-2 in a shootout, was a rescheduled contest due to the Sens' Covid-19 outbreak last month.
But regardless, Saturday will mark the first time since Nov. 13-14 that the Sens play two straight games at home.
"It's good to get a break, re-energize and then come back with two good days of practice where you can tidy up some things you were just grinding through," Nick Holden said. "It's an important little break here to set us up going into Christmas and the next stretch of games."
Formenton scores a shorty
If you were to guess who'd score the Senators' first short-handed goal of the season, the vast majority of votes would go to Alex Formenton.
And you'd be correct.
The 22-year-old eliminated Ottawa from the list of five teams who'd yet to score short-handed this season with a typical Formenton goal, where he used his speed to create separation before firing a shot over the glove of Ilya Sorokin.
"I thought Formy was really good," Smith said. "Unfortunately, he got froze out with so many power plays and I can't get him out there but where he excels is on the penalty kill and 5-on-5 with his speed. The chances he had and the ice time he had, I thought he was really good and gave us a spark."
The goal was Formenton's fifth of the season and it set a new career high in that category. It was also the second shorty of his young NHL career.
He also got a bit of playing time with Connor Brown and Tim Stützle after switching lines in the third period Monday and in a brief glimpse, Smith liked what he saw.
"I thought they gave us some really good shifts," he said. "[They] looked dangerous.
"But Formy continues to get better. He was one of the guys that was really beat up by Covid but he's really starting to skate and look dangerous the last four or five games."
