Goaltending Struggles Continue in Loss to Oilers

SensChirp February 1, 2021 0
Goaltending Struggles Continue in Loss to Oilers

FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS

-And it’s not going to get any easier either. With last night’s 8-5 loss at the hands of the Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa’s losing streak hit eight games. With eight more goals against last night, the Senators are now giving up a ridiculous 4.89 goals per game, which is more than a goal more than the next worst team. They sit comfortable in 31st overall in the NHL and a look at their upcoming schedule reads- at Edmonton, at Montreal, vs. Montreal, vs. Edmonton and vs. Edmonton. Yikes.

-It’s becoming increasingly difficult to get a good read on where things stand for this hockey team. Obviously they are terrible. You don’t just reel off eight losses in a row to start the season by accident. But it’s tough to know exactly how bad they’ve really been through this dreadful stretch. And that’s primarily because their goaltending continues to struggle on a level we haven’t really seen before. When you’re constantly chasing the game or playing scared, that can drag down other parts of your game. Everything looks worse when your goalie can’t make a save. There are obviously all sorts of issues with the Ottawa Senators but the goaltending continues to be the biggest reason they are losing hockey games.

-While the defensive zone miscues were still there and a loss is ultimately what they deserved, this really wasn’t a game where the Senators were completely dominated. And that’s happened a lot lately. Ottawa’s forwards especially, continue to generally outplay the opposition for long stretches of the game but it’s not leading to results because the goaltending and the defence are struggling so badly. That may be a case of the opposition sitting on a three, four and five goal lead but still, it’s noteworthy. You have to squint a little bit to see it but there are actually some encouraging signs hidden in this debacle of a start including the strong play of Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Tim Stützle, Colin White and Nick Paul. Those are the guys that really matter this year so it is encouraging to see them sticking with it even when the team results aren’t there.

-So what the hell is Ottawa going to do about the goaltending anyway? In his post-game remarks, DJ Smith certainly gave the impression that he’s considering a Joey Daccord start at some point soon and it’s easy to see why. Both Matt Murray and Marcus Hogberg have been awful recently and as a Coach, he can’t just keep rolling those guys out there expecting a different result. If the Senators are going to recall Daccord from the taxi squad, they’ll have to make room on the roster first. Not sure a game against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is really a fair way to ease Daccord in though.

-Another thing getting buried in the avalanche of losses is the undeniable progression in Tim Stützle’s game. The third game against the Vancouver Canucks was his best in the NHL and he was on a similar level last night against the Oilers. You can see he’s feeling increasingly confident with the puck on his stick and gradually realizing that he has the speed to burn NHL defenceman. He clearly still needs to get bigger and stronger but if the last couple games are an indication, he’s more than capable of playing the full season in the NHL. If that’s what the Senators think is best for him in his development. For what it’s worth, Tim Stützle is set to burn a year on his entry-level contract tomorrow night.

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