THE PAIN OF LOSING: With playoff possibility gone, Ottawa Senators look for positives in finishing stretch
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Soon, probably before the end of this month, the Ottawa Senators’ playoff hopes will be done … officially.
No matter how you calculate it … new math, old math, fingers, toes, calculator, old-school abacus … the number of possible points will be less than the number of points needed.
OK, there’s no need to wait for the math; the Senators are already toast. Done. Finished. Realistically, those hopes were gone long ago in a season that went off the rails from the get-go.
It’s hard to imagine this team winning each of its remaining 14 games. But … and let’s dream … even if they did, finishing with 88 points, they would still fall short of what’s likely needed to play in the post-season. The Florida Panthers slid into the final wild-card spot with 92 points a year ago. It looks like it’ll take more this season.
So, what can happen as the Senators head down the stretch before they play game No. 82 April 16 in Boston?
Stay focused. Don’t dwell on what’s already happened.
It starts Saturday in New Jersey, against a team that’s six points behind the Detroit Red Wings and the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Senators coach Jacques Martin pointed to statistics from Thursday’s 5-2 home-ice loss to the St. Louis Blues as what he’s telling his players in an effort to keep their spirits up.
The Senators had 61 shot attempts, while the Blues had just 33. Ottawa had 24 scoring chances, compared to 15 for St.. Louis. Ottawa had the edge in offensive zone time: 6:24-3:55. And, the Senators recovered 70% of their defensive zone rebounds, compared to 50 per cent for the Blues.
That’s all good, but …
“It shows we did a lot of good things,” Martin said. “In the meeting (I had with the team) this morning, I told them, ‘You don’t like the result. You don’t control the result. But it’s important you look at each game as an entity. (Saturday night is) a new game. We’re playing a team that’s battling for its life. So, it’s not going to be easy, but we have to bring the same kind of determination. We have to keep getting better, that’s the key every day.
“(Thursday) in the first period, we out-chanced (the Blues) 10-3 (in the first period) and we’re losing 2-0. Maybe (Saturday) we get some breaks, maybe we get some pucks that bounce the right way and go in and we get a couple of saves. What we control is the effort, the attention to details and determination. And that’s what we have to bring every night.”
“We’re learning from our mistakes,” Mark Kastelic, who scored one of Ottawa’s goals Thursday, said. “We’re never going to be perfect. We’re probably not trying to worry about wins and losses at this point. We just want to feel good about our performances, buy into what the coaches are telling us. That’s what we can hang our hat on the last few games.”
DR. CHOW IN RING OF HONOUR
The Senators announced Friday team doctor and community champion Dr. Donald Chow will become the third person inducted into the Senators Ring of Honour in a pre-game ceremony before the Senators host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers Sunday. Dr. Chow joins former Senators head coach and GM Bryan Murray and defenceman Wade Redden.
Dr. Chow has been a team physician with the Senators since 1992 and served as head physician from 2002-2017. He has been part of the medical staff for more than 2,000 regular-season games and 140 playoff games. More than 400 Senators have been under his care. He was part of the medical staff for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2012 NHL All-Star Game and the 2009 world hockey championships and represented the NHL as physician for both the 2010 (Vancouver) and 2014 (Sochi) Olympic Games.
HALLIDAY SIGNS
The Senators have signed forward Stephen Halliday to a two-year, entry-level contract starting next season. For the duration of 2023-24, Halliday has signed an amateur tryout agreement and will report to the Belleville Senators.
Halliday, 21, recently completed his second season of college eligibility with Ohio State University, where he led the team in both assists (26) and points (36), while ranking second in goals (10).
ANGUS RETURNS
The Senators recalled forward Angus Crookshank and re-assigned forward Zack Ostapchuk to Belleville. Crookshank has a goal and assist in seven games with Ottawa. In 50 games with Belleville, the 2018 fifth-round draft pick has 24 goals and 22 assists.
Asked about waiting to get called up to the NHL again, he said: “You can’t think about it, if you do, you’ll tie yourself up in knots. There are so many uncontrollables in this game. If the call comes, fantastic. If it doesn’t, I just stick to my business.
“I got told (Thursday) I was coming up as a placeholder in case somebody was sick. I was told after the game to stick around.”
Asked if it gets easier on the nerves, he said; “I don’t think there’s ever a day, especially for a guy who’s trying to work his way into the league, where you can be comfortable. Every day is a tryout. You’re trying to stay up here as long as you can. There are butterflies in your stomach, you’re under the bright lights in front of 20,000 people on a given night. It’s the same when I’m playing in Belleville, I get butterflies for those games, too. It’s about embracing the moment, shutting everything out and just focusing on myself and what I can do to help.”
ICE CHIPS
It was a maintenance day for both Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux, who missed Friday’s practice … If you’re keeping track of the Macklin Celebrini sweepstakes, the Senators, with 60 points, currently have the NHL’s fifth-worst record. They are one point behind Arizona and two behind Montreal. They are also two points ahead of Columbus. The lower the Senators finish, the better their chances are to select Celebrini, the clear-cut top prospect, in the No. 1 spot of this year’s NHL Draft. If they finish fifth-worst, they would have an 8.5% chance of winning the draft lottery. Finishing one spot lower would give them a 9.5%t chance. It looks like Chicago, San Jose and Anaheim have a lock on the three bottom spots and the best chance of picking first … The Senators have a record of 10-20-2 on the road this season … Interesting fact: The Senators and Devils will have five 2020 first-round draft picks playing Saturday. For Ottawa, it’s Stützle (third overall), Jake Sanderson (fifth) and Ridly Greig (28th), while the Devils have Alexander Holtz (seventh overall) and Dawson Mercer (18th). New Jersey also has Shakir Mukhamadullin (who was picked 20th) … Asked if the Senators’ younger players might see more ice time down the stretch, Martin said: “It’s fine if you have young players who are ready. If they’re not ready, you’re not helping them (by playing them).”
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