Ottawa Senators Postgame: Sens Beat Flames, End Losing Streak

So you’re telling me that the Ottawa Senators had lost five straight? And news just broke that Artem Zub will be out long term with a broken foot? And they were playing against the red hot Calgary Flames tonight, winners of five of their last six? Well, wouldn’t you know it, the Ottawa Senators found their way to victory, beating the Flames 4-3. That’s hockey for you. Let’s dive into the details.

READ MORE: Ottawa Senators Strengths and Weaknesses Through 20 Games

Cole Reinhardt’s First Career Goal

Let’s give a little background info on Reinhardt. He was a sixth round pick from the Brandon Wheat Kings back in 2020. He was an overager, though, having already been passed over in the draft two straight years. There’s a good chance the Senators were scouting Ridly Greig, his teammate, who they took in the first round that year. Anyway, they took a late round flier on Reinhardt. Here were his AHL numbers coming into this season, spread over four years: 225 games, 40 goals, 99 points. Not a whole lot to talk about there. Here’s what I wrote about him after a preseason game: “Let’s face it, Reinhardt is a bit of an afterthought in the world of the Ottawa Senators.”

Needless to say, Reinhardt is truly a feel good story, scoring his first ever NHL goal tonight. Earlier this season, he also recorded his first NHL assist in a game against Vegas. He earned this chance due to his strong preseason and then a great start in Belleville, where he leads the team with 14 points in 11 games. With the recent struggles of the Senators, having a couple young guys like Reinhardt and Ostapchuk come up, hungry to impress, was a smart way to add some energy to the lineup.

Power Play Dominance

Given that we’re now 21 games into the season, I think it’s safe to say the Senators have themselves a great power play. They’re currently sitting around 30% for the season, and they added two more goals tonight with the extra man. Inevitably, It helps when your opponent gives you eight opportunities. Tonight’s power play goals were by Batherson with a nice tip in, and then Tkachuk with his team best sixth on the power play to make it 4-2 in the third. Tkachuk is second in the NHL in power play goals, tied with a whole bunch of other players. Sanderson, meanwhile, sits third amongst d-men in power play points with 11.

Additional Notes

Speaking of Sanderson, he stepped up tonight, playing nearly 30 minutes and adding two assists. This is what the Senators need from him. He’s too good to blame a lesser partner for his lesser play. Forsberg was solid enough, stopping 24 of the 27 shots he faced. There’s no goalie controversy yet, but Forsberg has outplayed Ullmark through the first quarter of the season. He hasn’t been so brilliant that the team needs to start him every night, but he’s likely earned more routine starts given his solid play through his first nine starts. It was nice to see Ridly Greig put up a couple of assists, he’s been too quiet this season, especially for a player that’s supposed to play a loud game. Lastly, how crazy is it that Adam Gaudette has nine goals already?