OTTAWA — It’s so over to we are so back.
That is the vibe that the Ottawa Senators and their fans are feeling after two big wins this week.
The Senators find themselves in a deep hole, eight points out of a playoff spot, but there is no better reason to believe a heater has begun than when you beat, dominate and outscore two contenders in the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche 12-3 in back-to-back games.
“I’m not afraid to say, our record probably should be better than what it is because of the way we play,” said head coach Travis Green after Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Avalanche.
The Senators will need to go 20-9-0 the rest of the way to hit the 97-point threshold they likely need to secure a playoff spot. It's a difficult task, but if the Senators play anywhere close to the way they’ve played in their last two games, it's not impossible.
Let’s tackle some topics that will impact the Senators' chances to get back into the mix.
Shane Pinto regains elite shutdown form
Shane Pinto put on a clinic on how to shut down the unshutdownable Nathan MacKinnon on Wednesday. Pinto played almost every minute against MacKinnon, and his line with Nick Cousins and Michael Amadio was excellent, outshooting MacKinnon’s line four-to-two with a 66 expected goal share. They were able to accomplish a rare feat by keeping MacKinnon and Cale Makar off the scoresheet.
Pinto has become close with MacKinnon over the last two summers, training in Nova Scotia alongside MacKinnon and his childhood idol, Sidney Crosby.
A friendship was formed between MacKinnon and Pinto, and it extends onto the ice.
“You can't chirp (him),” Pinto told Sportsnet.ca with a laugh ahead of the Avalanche game. “He's won a cup. He has 1,000 points. So, there's nothing to chirp about but an unreal player.”
Pinto added that he tries to learn from his hockey pal, especially in the way he controls play.
“He’s a righty. I try to watch him a little bit carrying the puck through the middle," Pinto said. "I mean, never to that level, but (I try to emulate) the way he carries the puck through the middle of the ice.”
Pinto suffered a lower-body in early December and missed almost a month of play. He was on a 36-goal pace before his injury, but he has just two goals in 16 games since returning to the lineup. Pinto admitted that it's taken him some time to get his legs back underneath him, specifically the timing of his reads.
“When you come back, you're thinking too much,” he said.
He looked pretty good against the Nate Dogg.
Pinto returning to form is exactly what the Senators need.
Ridly Greig and Nick Cousins excelling as ultimate pests
We don’t know who is more annoying to play against, Ridly Greig or Nick Cousins, although Cousins was deemed to have the "most punchable face" in the league in a poll of his fellow players. Both are masters of the art form of being absolute pests.
“He's annoying, annoying on a daily basis,” Green joked about Cousins. “I don't think people understand how smart a player is. He really understands the game, small areas of the game, and he's brave.”
Cousins has had an excellent season, mainly on the fourth line driving play, but lately he has been promoted to Pinto’s line with Michael Amadio and has been great, especially against Colorado. The trio have a whopping 69 per cent expected goals share.
Cousins has an excellent 54 per cent expected goals share at five-on-five, seventh best on the team.
He already has more goals this season than last and says he’s playing some of the best hockey of his career, which included a beautiful goal on Wednesday that started off the scoring.
In the locker room, Cousins is always chirping teammates, keeping it light. But on the ice, he is as hard-nosed as they come, as shown by a huge shot block late against Colorado to help preserve the victory.
The epitome of a guy players love to have on their team but hate on the opponent's.
As for Greig, a younger and more skilled version of poor Cous (Cousin’s nickname), he has also been on a heater. Since Greig's empty net slapshot bobblehead night on Jan. 10, he’s had nine points in his last 10 games.
Greig has helped bring stability to a line with rich Coz (Dylan Cozens) and Brady Tkachuk that has dominated with a 65 per cent expected goal share at five-on-five.
The Senators' two ultimate shift disturbers have been thriving, and right now they are scoring fun goals mixed with a slew of after-the-whistle skirmishes.
Batherson slumping
Since Dec. 29, Drake Batherson has eight points in 15 games, including a recent five-game pointless streak. Previously, he had 36 points in 34 games. Batherson’s expected goals share has also dropped from 57 per cent to 53 per cent since the calendar flipped to January.
Some of that is simply regression to the mean, as Batherson’s shooting percentage dropped from a whopping 19 per cent in his first 34 games to 13 per cent in his last 15 games.
While the results haven't been there, Batherson has a plan for what he needs to do to get back on track.
“Obviously not where I want to be,” he told Sportsnet.ca recently. “And I'd like to obviously increase my shot volume a little bit and usually when I do that, they tend to go in.”
It’s not in Batherson’s nature to be a sharpshooter.
“I think I've been like that since I was a kid. I've always kind of looked for the extra play, and I don't know if that's just the way I've always thought of the game," he said. "I've always liked setting guys up, but there's times I definitely should shoot, and I shouldn't. But my grandmother yells at me all the time to shoot more, so I guess I should start listening to her.”
Always listen to your grandma, kids.
Shoot!
“I think when you're getting a bunch of points, you're not thinking about it, and then when you're not getting the points you want, that’s all you think about, it seems like,” Batherson said.
Like Pinto, Batherson also trains in Nova Scotia in the summer and has become close with MacKinnon. Though he plays more against MacKinnon in a summer skate than he did on Wednesday.
“I'm never out there against him (MacKinnon), so I never get the opportunity”, Batherson laughed.
Nevertheless, Green felt Batherson's game in Vegas was one of his best of the season and “a step in the right direction,” even if he didn't hit the scoresheet.
“It’s funny, a lot of people base a game on points and assists, and I didn't know if he had a goal or an assist (against Vegas),” said Green. “(When) Drake’s playing on his toes, and he's aggressive, and he has a certain look that he has in his game. I think it’s his best game.”
As the Pinto and Cozens lines thrive, the Senators will need Batherson to regain his form alongside Tim Stutzle to back into the playoff race.
New PK coach, different results?
Mike Yeo replaced Nolan Baumgartner as the assistant coach manning a penalty kill unit that has been at the bottom of the league all season. However, the Senators are still executing the diamond formation so far.
“The structure is the same,” Shane Pinto told Sportsnet.ca. “We're doing the diamond still, but just a new voice. I think after a while, I thought we were doing the right things, it just wasn't going our way. And we just thought a change was necessary, just a different voice.”
Well so far, so good. The Senators have killed off five of six penalties since the change, with the only goal beating them a fluky bounce, not a breakdown, in Saturday's loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Against the Avalanche, they were smart enough not to take any penalties. If the Senators hope to climb up the standings, fewer penalties and an improved penalty kill will be necessary.
Ullmark's return uncertain
Linus Ullmark has been the backup the last two games but has yet to make a start.
Green has been asked about when Ullmark would return every day for a week, yet the answer remains the same.
“He’ll start when he’s ready to start.”
A fascinating development is that Maciej Szwoch, Ullmark’s former goalie coach and mentor, has been consulting with the Senators as Ullmark continues his return from a leave of absence due to self-professed mental health struggles. Green said that general manager Steve Staios brought in Szwoch to help Ullmark out.
"Just a mentor and friend in town to help him out. Help him through some hard times," said Green.
It’s clear the Senators organization is doing everything they can to make sure Ullmark is at his best on and off the ice. Hopefully it translates into positives for Ullmark in all capacities of his life.
