Notebook: Why Senators discover themselves in playoff spot

OTTAWA — It’s American Thanksgiving and the Ottawa Senators are in a playoff spot.

Those phrases haven’t been uttered since 2016 — virtually a full decade in the past.

They reveal how far the Senators have come and the way their ambitions have risen. Still, it’s not about simply making the playoffs — it’s about what they do as soon as there.

Despite falling aside within the third interval towards the St. Louis Blues on Friday in a sport the place Shane Pinto mentioned “a little bit of immaturity” induced the loss, the Senators will nonetheless end their beforehand cursed month of November above .500 for the primary time since 2016.

Let’s dive into the nice, good and ugly for the Senators to this point:

All eyes had been on the return of Brady Tkachuk on Friday, and he was spectacular regardless of the six-week layoff on account of thumb surgical procedure. What’s going to be fascinating is the place head coach Travis Green slots him within the lineup. The presumption was that Tkachuk would flip to the left facet of Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson, a duo which has been sizzling all season. Instead, Green threw Tkachuk alongside Fabian Zetterlund and Dylan Cozens, which resulted in a objective and an help for the returning star.  

Unless or till Steve Staios acquires one other top-six winger, the choice for Green shall be whether or not to overload the primary line with Stutzle and Batherson or strive for 3 stable strains with Tkachuk lifting Cozens and Zetterlund up like he did in his debut. (Green hasn’t touched the scorching Michael Amadio-Shane Pinto-Claude Giroux third line for a lot of the season).

Regardless, Tkachuk’s return will enhance the workforce in a large number of the way: he sits high three within the league on a per-game foundation in creating scoring possibilities, rebound possibilities and deflections, per Sportlogiq and as revealed on Friday’s broadcast. No different participant within the league is within the high three in every of these classes.

Zetterlund’s offensive spark

Zetterlund began his Senators profession with three targets in his first 45 video games together with common season and playoffs. He now has three targets in his final 4 video games.

The Swede’s output will possible find yourself someplace in between his droop to start the season and his current heater. His scoring contact is critical for the Senators to grow to be an elite hockey workforce. Against St. Louis, he carved a Z with the puck behind the web, learn that each the defenceman and goaltender had been dragged in a single course and shortly rerouted for a artistic, good wraparound objective.

Zetterlund’s analytics are stable with a 52 per cent anticipated targets share, which ranks eighth on the workforce, and he’s been on the ice at five-on-five for the fifth-most high-danger probabilities of any Senators ahead, forward of Cozens and Batherson.

Zetterlund has been creating possibilities — now, he is lastly beginning to bury them.

If that may proceed, it helps the Senators each on the ice and when it comes to asset administration in the event that they wish to use the Swede to accumulate a greater sniper through commerce.

Who rounds out the Senators’ high six?

The core of the Senators’ high six consists of Tkachuk, Stutzle, Batherson, Cozens and Zetterlund, for now. But who’s the sixth? It’s been musical chairs for the ultimate spot to this point, with the likes of David Perron, Lars Eller, Ridly Greig and Nick Cousins rotating by.

Those 4 have mixed for 11 targets.

Green adjustments his strains so often as a result of he doesn’t have that ultimate clear-cut top-six ahead.

It’s as much as Staios to accumulate that participant by the commerce deadline.

The Senators’ fourth line has struggled all season. Eller has been helpful, however not as efficient as Staios would have hoped, main Green to taking part in his fourth line solely between five-to-seven minutes per sport of late. The trio of Eller, Cousins and Hayden Hodgson holds an terrible 11 per cent anticipated targets share whereas being outshot 8-1.

“We got a little tired. I’ve got to do a little better job of getting our fourth line out, getting them a few more minutes to save some energy later in games,” Green mentioned after the Senators’ Wednesday win in Vegas.

Tkachuk’s return will assist create depth, but it surely’s not sustainable in an 82-game season to play the fourth line so little. Either the Senators want higher play from their inner fourth-line choices, maybe by giving teenager Stephen Halliday one other shot, or Staios wants so as to add depth by the commerce deadline.

Jensen’s down 12 months continues

When Thomas Chabot returns — and we nonetheless do not know when that shall be — Nick Jensen wants to sit down. We will repeat ourselves: it’s not Jensen’s fault that he’s struggling at 35 after main hip surgical procedure. Nevertheless, his turnover towards the Blues behind his personal internet led on to the opening objective, and beforehand towards the Kings on Monday, he misplaced a person behind him resulting in a tap-in for an additional opening objective.

Jensen has been on the ice for 22 targets towards this season at five-on-five — essentially the most of any Senator. His present associate, Nikolas Matinpalo, has been regular and created two targets with main assists towards the Kings and Blues. Maybe just a little relaxation will enable Jensen to return to his sterling play from final season.

In November, the Senators ranks fifteenth in save proportion at .900 — a significant enchancment from the beginning of the season. Linus Ullmark has performed nearer to his Vezina type with a save proportion above .895 in six straight video games, together with standing on his head to safe a win towards the Golden Knights.

Meanwhile, since Leevi Merilainen’s terrible seven-goal first begin, he has a .902 save proportion. If you are marvel how the Senators have circled their season, look no additional than the goaltenders.

A Sens fan dubbed Giroux-Amadio-Pinto the “GPA line,” a nod to the primary preliminary of every participant’s final title and their collective hockey IQ. The line continues to boast the most effective anticipated targets proportion within the NHL because of its capacity to neutralize opposition performs and create the opposite means.

In a nifty objective towards the Blues, Pinto entered the zone and located Amadio with a sensible turnaround that ultimately landed again on his stick. Recently, Pinto has been the benefactor of the trio’s sturdy play, scoring in back-to-back video games. He simply landed a large $30 million contract price $7.5 million per 12 months. Over one quarter of the season, he’s on tempo for 41 targets, and one wonders how a lot greater that AAV might have gone in free company given the new begin. He’s additionally in competition to make the U.S. Olympic workforce. 

Last season, the Senators’ document by American Thanksgiving was 8-11-1. Since Dec. 1 final season, the Senators have a 35-18-6 document; their .644 factors proportion ties them with the Lightning for thirteenth within the NHL.