Comeback win `huge lesson' for team
Offensive outburst good for team morale but players know they have to defend better
The historic comeback is now history for the Ottawa Senators.
Now they have to get ready for the next chapter of the Battle of Ontario.
Coming off a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory over the archrival Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, the Senators were back at work on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena, preparing for the second part of a three-game series on Wednesday.
Given the fact the Senators franchise had been 0-237-3 when trailing by four goals or more, it was exciting that they were able to erase a 5-1 deficit on Monday, and there was a lot to smile about on Tuesday.
They hope they're able to build off that heroic third-period effort, capped by Evgenii Dadonov scoring the tying goal with
2:01 left and then counting the overtime winner, too.
“It's a young team, and, if you ask them, it was the funnest game of the year,” Senators head coach D.J. Smith said on a Zoom call from Toronto. “If you ask both coaches, they would both say that's not the way we'd draw it up. But, you know what? It's great to see them having fun and scoring goals. That's something we haven't done a lot of.
“We've been in a lot of games, and there are probably games where we've played better than that one. But it's exciting to see these guys make plays and to find ways to cheer each other on from the bench. It bodes well for the future, but we want to keep doing it now.”
Monday marked only the third time in 17 games that the Senators have scored five goals or more.
The first was in a 5-3 victory over the Leafs on opening night back on Jan. 15, and the other was in an 8-5 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Alberta on Jan. 31.
Although they found their scoring touch at an opportune time against the Leafs, the Senators don't want to live dangerously, and that's why they feel they need to be much better in their own end on Wednesday. Smith isn't ignoring the fact that linemates Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Joe Thornton were on the verge of leading the Leafs to victory.
“We've got to defend better, for sure,” Smith said. “In saying that, (the Leafs) came out hungry. They lost to Montreal, they came out skating, and we weren't as sharp early on and they capitalized.
“We can't give them that many
odd-man rushes. We gave them six odd-man rushes (Monday), which is probably the worst we've given up in two years.
Give them credit. They know how to create them and jump in the holes, but you can't do that against a team with that much firepower.”
Coupled with Saturday's 2-1 last-minute victory over the Winnipeg Jets, the Senators can view this as maybe some kind of turning point to their season. They've had their share of struggles, not only keeping the puck out of the net, but also scoring timely goals.
Both problems were solved in the third period on Monday, with goaltender Marcus Hogberg bouncing back to make key stops.
“You could probably make an argument they were probably two of the worst periods that we've played this year,” alternate captain Erik Gudbranson said. “But we didn't give up and that's a huge lesson to be learned. It's huge for the belief system in the room and it was a fun third period.”
Not only did it mean a lot to Ottawa fans that the Senators were able to rally for the win against the first-place Leafs, but it also gave the dressing room a boost of confidence. Let's be honest, it was looking bleak after 40 minutes, and the negative narrative surrounding this team would only have gotten louder if that trend had continued.
“It's hugely important for our room,” Gudbranson said. “Earlier on in the season, you look back and we got down a few goals, and we kind of shied away and kind of got away from our game. (Monday) we did the exact opposite.
“We went into the third period with a tough mountain to climb, we clamped down and stuck to our systems, and got better. That's a huge sign of positivity for our group, that we're learning and that we're able to do the right things under pressure and under the microscope.”
Digging that kind of hole isn't a great idea, but it does help when you can find your way out it.
“You take the fact you know you can do it and then you use that to your advantage,” Gudbranson added. “The third period, we did a lot of things really, really well. We put them under pressure and they were starting to grip their sticks tight when we got that third goal.
“We took advantage of that. We didn't sit back and try to get cute with plays and play a wideopen game. We did a good job of making hard plays, putting them under pressure, and forcing them to make mistakes.”