After suffering a loss in Carolina in the first game of the season, the Ottawa Senators bounced back by winning their two weekend matchups against Eastern Conference teams, with captain Brady Tkachuk setting the tone.
The American has scored a brace in each of the last two games: he contributed an assist in the 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, after helping his team beat the Philadelphia Flyers to an identical mark the day before defeat.
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These two wins in as many nights are steps in the right direction for the Ontario team. According to head coach DJ Smith, the team has learned a lot over the past few seasons.
“We have lost a lot in the past. “Our players know how difficult it is to beat the good players in the league,” he said, as reported by the Ottawa Sun newspaper.
Ottawa last reached the playoffs in the 2016-2017 season. No player from the current roster was with the Senators when they lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Finals.
“We remember that feeling [de perdre]Tkachuk added about the many unsuccessful years with the Sens.
Solid at the back
In addition to Tkachuk, other players also played their part in these successes. The Senators limited the number of shots on goal, getting 21 shots against the Flyers and 24 against the Lightning. The Hurricanes, for their part, fired 42 shots at the cage defended by Joonas Korpisalo on Wednesday.
“We did a really good job in front of our net helping our goalies,” Smith said. We still want to work on it, but I noticed that we worked very hard.”
Thanks to the efficient work of the group, Anton Forsberg and Korpisalo each played one game this weekend and each celebrated their first win of the season.
“There were some years where opposing teams consistently managed to shoot at our net 40 or more times,” Tkachuk remembers. Our goal has always been to limit the chances we get and I think we’re getting better and better. “We have the puck more often, which means we spend less time in our zone.”
The Senators will host the Washington Capitals for their next duel on Wednesday evening.