Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators Postgame: Rangers Beatdown Sens
After a great weekend of hockey, the Ottawa Senators struggled to generate any offense in a bad loss to the New York Rangers.

There’s not many positives coming out of this game. After a great five game stretch that saw the Ottawa Senators secure nine out of a possible ten points, the Sens put up a dud against the New York Rangers. They were lifeless for much of the game, generating very little offense, including some brutal power plays. In the end it was a 5-0 loss, with the Rangers also having two goals disallowed because of successful offside challenges by Travis Green. Those challenges might’ve been the best plays by this team all night. Let’s dive into the details.
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Woeful Special Teams
When you win the special teams battle, you usually win the game. That was once again the case tonight. The Rangers went 2-4 on their power play, while the Sens went 0-2. Not only did the Senators not score, they couldn’t even manage any good chances. In fact, they didn’t even register a shot. One player that needs to start shooting more on the power play is Tim Stützle. After scoring the Ottawa Senators first goal of the season on the power play, he has managed just one power play goal since. He has just 16 power play shots all season in 47 games. He is too skilled and has the puck on his stick too much to be a total non-threat as a shooter with the man advantage.
Offensive Issues, Again
There have been a couple of games that made Sens fans believe that this team had found their offense again. They beat the Penguins 5-0 on January 11th, but followed that up with just five goals in their next three games. Then, they beat the Bruins 6-5 on Saturday, but followed that up with just two goals in their next two games, including none tonight. They have now been shutout four times in their last ten games. It’s time for this team to start bringing a more consistent offense. It starts with their captain, Brady Tkachuk, who has been held pointless in eight straight games. Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle also need to elevate their games, among quite a few others.
Additional Thoughts
Every time Norris leaves a game for even a shift, or even heads to the bench gingerly, the whole fanbase holds their breath. Losing him early in this game was a tough blow. He hit his chin on the ice, so it might be concussion concerns. Hopefully nothing long term this time around. In the battle to be the backup once Linus Ullmark returns, this wasn’t a great showing for either guy. Merilainen was shaky early, and Forsberg didn’t look a whole lot better. Not that they got much help from the rest of the team. Igor Shesterkin’s acting job on the Tkachuk bump was a bit much. Especially when he popped right back up to join in on the fight. For a minute, as Forsberg inched down the ice, it looked like we might have a classic Senators goalie fight. At least that would’ve brought some entertainment tonight.