Surprise Senators Stats to Start the Season

11 games down, 71 to go in the 2024-25 Ottawa Senators season! While it might not seem like much, these 11 games have left Senators fans feeling a sense of cautious optimism. Cautious because the Senators are only 6-5, not exactly running away with a playoff spot. Keep in mind that last season, they started 5-6, just one game worse, and even worked their way to 8-7, as well as 11-11 before falling flat on their face with six straight losses. So yes, cautious optimism seems like the best way to describe the state of the fanbase right now.

The Senators are about to embark on a beautiful three week stretch, from my perspective anyway. They will play every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 7pm during that time. Talk about a dream schedule for the fans! Before that, let’s dive into the five biggest statistical surprises for the Senators during their first 11 games!

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Senators Surprise #1: Adam Gaudette, the Goal Scorer

Gaudette’s six goals puts him tied for second on the Senators to start the season(Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

At the start of September, I predicted the Senators goal totals for the upcoming season. I didn’t even include Gaudette on the list! Since then, he had a great preseason with four goals in five games. His goal scoring has continued in the regular season with a shocking six goals in ten games, despite playing under ten minutes per game. He knows where to go around the net, and he has a strong shot to go with those offensive instincts.

Gaudette is the feel good story of the season thus far for the Senators, as it was starting to look like his time in the NHL was just about finished. Over the two prior seasons, he played just two NHL games. Now, you could make a realistic argument for him to not just be in the lineup regularly, but to see even more playing time. We do need to be realistic in that he’s been lucky as a shooter- no one will sustain a 35% shooting percentage for a very long time. But with the likes of Pinto and Perron missing time, his goal scoring has been a huge lift to the Senators forward depth.

Senators Surprise #2: Michael Amadio, Goalless Through 11 Games

Amadio was someone the fanbase was quite excited about before the season began. The way he was being described was a bit of a jack of all trades, master of none. He’s not going to wow you with any one skill or trait he has, but his solid, well-rounded play will leave you impressed. I’m not even saying the start to his season has been bad; his defensive play and work ethic have been good enough. But no goals through 11 games with a new team has to be eating at him at this point. He also only has two assists. He’s the only regular forward without a goal (Perron also has none, but he’s only played in five games).

Over his last three seasons with Vegas, he scored 41 goals in 193 games. That’s good for around 17 per 82 games. So it’s not as if he’s a massive goal scorer, but you really hope he can score that first one soon so it’s not a stat that follows him around much longer.

Senators Surprise #3: Anton Forsberg, League Leader in Shutouts

Forsberg was one of the biggest question marks for the Senators coming into the season. Yes, they upgraded their starter in the Ullmark trade, but Forsberg was still going to play his share of games this season. He was coming off a miserable year that saw him post an .890 SV%.  Forsberg starting hot was going to ease the minds of a lot of Sens fans. Well, how about giving up three goals on nine shots and getting pulled in his first start of the season? Alright, that was rough. Since then, though, it’s been a lot more good than bad. Two of his starts, in fact, have been perfect. His two shutouts rank him first in the NHL right now, ahead of a whole bunch of other goalies who have only have one. That’s right, he has twice as many!

Okay, it’s only been six starts for Forsberg, so you don’t want to overreact, but those types of quality games from your backup are massive. Take the game against Seattle, for example. The Senators were playing in a back to back situation and coming off a loss to the Rangers. There was a legitimate case to start Ullmark because a second straight loss, putting the Sens at under .500, could really hurt the team’s morale in the early part of the season. Instead, Travis Green starts Forsberg, who stops all 22 shots in a big win. It’s very hard to make the playoffs without quality goaltending. Seeing your backup with two early season shutouts? That’s the definition of quality!

Senators Surprise #4: Thriving Depth Players

Ottawa’s depth was an obvious area of concern heading into the season. Most fans believed in the players at the top, but those fourth line forwards, third pairing defensemen and the backup goalie? Not so much. To make matters worse, the Senators have been without Ullmark, Perron, Greig, Pinto and Zub for parts of the early season. Their depth was tested right from the start, and to their credit, their depth players have delivered. I’ve already highlighted Forsberg and Gaudette, but there are a few others that deserve some love, too.

Tyler Kleven has looked exactly as fans would’ve hoped, playing a physical, calm game as a rookie. Bernard-Docker, his most regular partner, has been solid as well. I’ve already harped on Hamonic playing too much, but he’s being put into a tough spot with Zub out. Those three guys as Ottawa’s fifth, sixth, and seventh d-men was a scary thought before the season started. Now, it’s looking like a solid, albeit unspectacular trio.

From a depth forward perspective, Gaudette has already been the obvious star. Noah Gregor and Zack MacEwan have chipped in offensively as well with two goals each, and both players sit in Ottawa’s top five for hits. Gregor’s also playing almost two minutes per game on the penalty kill. It’s at the point now where fans are left wondering, who will Travis Green have to sit, somewhat undeservingly, when the Senators do get their full lineup back?

Senators Surprise #5: Tim Stützle’s and Josh Norris’ Physicality

Both Stützle and Norris have upped their physical games this season (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

Both these players have shown plenty of grit as young players prior to this season. To see them sitting in a tie for second and fourth among all Senators in hits to start the season certainly comes as a surprise to me nonetheless. Norris is the one tied with Gregor in second with 27 hits, while Stützle is in fourth with 25. Let’s put this in perspective. Prior to this season, Norris averaged 4.6 hits per 60 minutes. This season, he has jumped up to 7.8. Stützle’s career mark was at 4.2. This season he’s at 7. Travis Green wants his team to be hard to play against. To see Norris and Stützle buy into this style of play has been great.

From Norris’ perspective, he’s decided to forget about the shoulder injuries in the hopes of becoming one of Ottawa’s most well-rounded forwards. He’s the only Senators forward averaging at least two minutes on both the power play and penalty kill per game. He’s also leading the way in faceoffs at 141, winning 55% of them. As for Stützle, it’s almost as if he’s found his man strength. Sure, he’ll still lose an edge here or there, but he’s decided to fight through contact and initiate contact quite a bit, too.

So there you have it, the Senators biggest surprises through the first 11 games. Now it’s time to enjoy the beautiful three week schedule ahead, with the hopes of Ottawa sticking around in the playoff race through that stretch, and beyond.