Senators Postgame: Sens End Season With High Scoring Win

Once again the Ottawa Senators closed out the regular season with a meaningless game. This time, though, it was for a good reason. Having already clinched the first Wild Card spot and certain to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, the Senators played game 82 with nothing on the line. Their opponent tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes, also had nothing on the line having clinched the second spot in their division many games ago. Needless to say, this played out like a game that didn’t matter, as both teams chose to give a little more effort in the offensive zone than they did in the defensive zone. The Senators scored the first three goals, the Hurricanes scored the next five, and then the Senators closed out the game with four goals in a row to win this game 7-5. Let’s dive into the details.

READ MORE: Examining Tim Stützle’s Scoring Struggles

Career Year For Batherson

With three points tonight, Drake Batherson finished the season with a career-high 68 points. He surpassed his career-high from a year ago of 66 points, which was slightly better than his 62 points the season before. Essentially, Batherson has shown himself to be a solid offensive winger. This season, though, under the new coaching regime, he prided himself on the defensive side as well. Yes, he went through a rough stretch in  January, but ever since the Dylan Cozens addition, he’s been noticeable for the right reasons.

Strong Finish For Stützle

Tim Stützle put this game away with a beauty late in the third, his 24th of the year and third point of the night. After a rough stretch starting at the end of March and continuing in April, Stützle finished the season with seven points in his last three games. In two of those games he had three points, which is the type of offensive play the Senators will need from him to be to combat the likes of Marner, Matthews, and Nylander in their first round matchup. The key to his improved play? He’s playing with aggression, taking the puck to the net, and yes, he’s shooting! He has 11 shots in these last three games.

Additional Notes

Adam Gaudette was undoubtedly one of the feel good stories of the season for the Senators. Coming off a season in the AHL, he scored 19 goals, including two tonight. The goals were harder to come by after his red hot start, but having him finish sixth on the team in goals is something no one saw coming. With two assists tonight, Jake Sanderson finished with 57 points, the eighth best offensive season by a d-man in Sens history.

It was nice to see Brady Tkachuk back after missing several games with injury. It was not so nice to see him not play the third, although it sounds like it was precautionary. Dylan Cozens’ statline as a Senator this season: 21 games, 5 goals, 16 points. Let’s end with a little trivia- Who were the only two Senators to play all 82 games this season? That would be the two headliners of the night- Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle. Now, onto the playoffs!