After several months of missing the playoffs, the Senators were swept by the Hurricanes, ending their playoff run after just one week. This is their first since 2008, although back then it was an aging team that was slowly collapsing and were soundly defeated by the Penguins. This time, the Sens showed great courage, but inevitably lost to a superior team. Let’s get into the details to find out what exactly went wrong.
Read more: Shane Pinto’s Selke case
credit to the storm
Yes, I will point out the shortcomings of the senators. It goes without saying what a great game the Hurricanes played. I mentioned it again before and during the series: they are a well-oiled machine. His defensive play was impeccable, allowing only five goals in four games. They make it just as difficult to make shots as they do to break the puck out of the defensive zone. Their depth was excellent, with Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall leading the way offensively. Hall also helped the Canes by hitting Sanderson hard, knocking him out of the series (he only got a two-minute penalty for it, not that I’m still bitter).
The question mark for the Hurricanes heading into the playoffs was their goaltending. Frederick Anderson, with a little help from his post, was great. He stopped 105 out of 110 shots he faced. The best part of the Hurricane series? His penalty kill. His offensive strategy was largely successful, frustrating the Senators’ skill players throughout the series, as the Canes killed 20 of the 21 Senators’ power plays.
Another guy I’d like to mention: Jalen Chatfield. In the series preview, I brought up 16 storms. Chatfield was not one of them. In my eyes, he may be the most underrated player in the NHL. He is rarely discussed, yet in each game he gives the Canes 20-plus minutes of effort, energy and intelligent hockey. He averaged over 23 minutes per game in the series, including 4:38 shorthanded per game. One last thing – Jakob Slavin is a monster defensively. Now, onto the sensors.
Senators’ strengths: Ullmark and defensive play
Let’s start with the good stuff. Linus Ullmark was fantastic, stopping 124 of 133 shots. He finished the series with a .933 SV%. His save percentages in four games were as follows:
He made many spectacular saves during the series. Given how well Ullmark played, a sweep actually seems impossible. For a guy who endured a tough season that included some time off due to personal reasons, at least Ullmark is finishing his year playing his best hockey as a Senator.
As far as the defensive side of the ice was concerned, the Senators stood strong. They conceded only 11 goals in approximately 14 periods, two of which were empty netters. Their penalty kill surrendered two goals in 15 Hurricanes power plays for an 86.7% success rate. They did all this without Zub for most of the series, without Sanderson for a game and a half, and without Kleven for the first two games. Let’s not forget that Nick Jensen, a regular for most of the season, was out for the playoffs as well.
Playing 10 defensemen in a four-game series is a recipe for disaster, but the Sens played hard on their side of the ice. The key to their success is how much the forwards care about the defensive side of the game. For the Hurricanes, it was probably like playing a version of themselves. Of course a shorter version, but at least the censorship showed a willingness to defend to the end.
senators are waiting for trouble
The Senators finished the regular season in eighth place, averaging 3.35 goals per game. He scored five goals in less than 14 periods of hockey in this series. Here’s how bad things went from an offensive standpoint compared to the season before:
- Season: 11.6 shooting %, 24% power play
- playoffs: 4.5 Shooting %, 4.8% Power Play
The Senators’ total scores in the four games were: 22, 39, 21, 27.
Keep in mind, the 39 shot game went into double overtime. So there were two issues in the game – the Senators weren’t making enough shots, and on the shots they did make, their finishing was extremely poor. There are plenty of examples of this – Batherson and Tkachuk should both have had the game tied at one each. Stützle was supposed to open the scoring in the second game. Both he and Amadio should have won the second game in overtime. Tkachuk should have tied the third game. The list goes on and on.
In the end, only two Senators scored in the series—Batherson had three and Cozens two. Considering their poor performance in last year’s first round, at least they were able to add some offense this year, in a year where no one was able to do so.
Struggle of Stützle and Tkachuk
Here were the final drafts for the Senators’ two-star forward:
- Stützle: 4 games, 0 goals, 1 point, -4, 25:31 time on ice/game
- tkachuk: 4 games, 0 goals, 0 points, -4, 21:31 time on ice/game
I would say you can’t win if your star players don’t perform, but Jarvis, Svechnikov and Ehlers were held goalless as the Hurricanes secured the win. I think it would be more meaningful to say this: You can’t win without the performance of your star players, unless the depth players step up in a big way.
Stankoven and Hall carried the bulk of the offense for the Hurricanes. Martinook was ahead in the second game and Blake was ahead in the third game. The whole team was fantastic defensively. For the senators, apart from Batherson, no one stood up aggressively. As the highest-paid forwards and the two men on the ice for all key offensive situations, the blame falls primarily on Tkachuk and Stützle.
Both had some great chances, but getting close proved futile. They were both equally bad in the Senators’ miserable power game, and they were both weak on the defensive side of the ice. Here’s my unsolicited advice for both guys. As for Tkachuk, he needs to play with a combination of passion and anger. He is too demonstrative sometimes. He is also very passive sometimes. A player with his skill should never play a quiet game. The way he played in game four, he is the Tkachuk this team needs moving forward.
As far as Stuetzle goes, I truly believe the Senators need to find a highly skilled linemate to bring out the best version of him. He sometimes tries to do it all himself, and is clearly frustrated when it doesn’t work. From a stylistic standpoint, he wants to play like McDavid and MacKinnon. For this, he needs to become stronger, making it difficult for him to get past the puck.
final thoughts
When a team is drained, there is no longer a “what could have been” feeling about things. It’s clear the Senators need to be a better hockey team. This will be a big offseason for Steve Staios and company. Pretty well the entire core is signed until at least next year. They will have cap space and a great chance to progress to true contender status with a strong offseason.
I’ll end with this – as much as it hurts to move good players out, the Staos tried to put together the same group this season and in the end, the Senators are in the same spot they were a year ago. Don’t forget that the Florida Panthers traded away Jonathan Huberdeau, who was a 115-point scorer at the time and one of their franchise’s all-time greats, in order to take their team to the next level. This resulted in two Stanley Cups. Steve Staios, it’s time to think big.
#sensor #wrong
