The Ottawa Senators open their seven-game, 14-day road swing Wednesday evening at the Bell Centre versus the Canadiens. Not only is this trip their longest since being forced out of their home for the 2009 World Junior tourney, it’s likely a make or break trek that’ll set the stage for the remainder of the Senators season.
The team is currently mired in a six-game winless streak and cannot afford to continue to lose ground in the Atlantic Division. The Lightning and Maple Leafs are the class of the division, leaving the Sens among between four and six teams battling for likely one postseason berth.
A bad trip is not a death knell, of course, but the Sens are approaching dangerous territory where they’ll need to win 57-60% of their final 60 games to have a decent shot at an Eastern Conference post-season berth.
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After a close 2-1 loss Saturday to the Islanders, coach Guy Boucher gave his players a two-day respite, despite his team’s precarious position.
The Senators bench boss believes a reset is in order, especially since the club is on its longest winless string since March 10-24, 2014 and hasn’t won a game since returning from Sweden more than two weeks ago.
“Coming back from Europe, we went back on the road right away after playing three games in four days,” explained Boucher. “If we don’t take this moment (to rest) now, it’s not coming back again. We are gone for two weeks. These guys need the rest. They’re also human and need to see their families.”
Boucher also lamented the schedule handed the Sens by the league.
“We knew it was going to be a very difficult schedule for us this year. And we are seeing this right now. We have to give the players time to recoup before taking off.”
The Senators play 19 back-to-backs, tied for the most in the NHL. However, the organization may have been their own worst enemy. Agreeing to participate in a mid-November overseas trip, hosting an outdoor game and booking the Roar of the Rings Canadian Olympic Curling qualifier at the Canadian Tire Centre, causes havoc with the team’s schedule.
Bottom line, though, is the Sens need more production, and, ultimately, more wins. In their current 0-5-1 run, Ottawa scored only eight goals – while surrendering 21. Matt Duchene’s power play goal Saturday is the only man-advantage goal scored by the Sens during their current skid.
Duchene’s in-season acquisition has yet to provide the desired jolt and results. Saturday’s goal represented his first point in eight games with his new team.
It has not been that Duchene was invisible, though. The centre fired 27 shots on goal during those eight games.
“It’s almost comical how bad the bounces have been,” said Duchene. “It’s one of those of things I’ve been through before. All I can I do is come to the rink and put a smile on my face. It’s a law of averages if you keep putting out that effort.”
While focused on his production, the Haliburton, ON native is more concerned with his team’s play than that of his own.
"I’ve yet to see a team that gets to where they want to go at the end of the season without going through adversity,” offered Duchene. “It’s character building. We have two ways to go. We get bitter or we get better. We are going to choose the latter.”
Captain Erik Karlsson, who hasn’t earned a point during the Senators skid, also preaches a positive attitude.
“You have to stay positive, whether it’s going well or not well,” said Karlsson. “We have try to stay as neutral as possible and find a way to get through this. We have a way of believing in ourselves. It’s never fun losing.”
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The Senators will next face a suddenly hot Canadiens goalie Carey Price, who has allowed only two goals in the past two games since returning from a lower-body injury.
And Boucher needs his players to enter the game with a clean mindset.
“Next game is not six games. It’s one game. If you carry six losses into one game, you may as well give the two points away. It’s how you free your mind.”