Two out of three ain’t bad for Sens’ start

It’s almost too early in the season to call it early. Pre-early? Still, NHL teams are scrambling to find chemistry and points at the same time. Some good clubs — at least on paper — are seeking their first victories of the season.

The Ottawa Senators don’t have that problem. After starting smartly on the road — victories in Buffalo and Toronto (via a wild overtime and shootout) — the Senators lost their home opener 3-1 to Montreal on Sunday for a 2-1 record. Montreal is 3-0 atop the division.

The Sunday performance was disappointing to most of the 19,177 at the Canadian Tire Centre, but shouldn’t have come as a shock. While both teams had played the previous night, the Senators were playing their third game in four nights and clearly didn’t have their usual jump.

According to veteran defenceman Marc Methot, the outcome and 34-21 shot disadvantage were all about the home side’s energy level.

“I think for us, the biggest thing is just making sure our legs are under us,” Methot said. “Because the skill set is in the room, and in terms of being motivated, we want to win games. There’s no question.

“So, I think over the next couple of days, just take care of ourselves. We’re going to get a good practice in on Tuesday.”

And then leave for road games in Columbus and Pittsburgh, Wednesday and Thursday.

Three games is never enough to take stock of a team. Last season, remember, Ottawa was 4-1 after five games, showing no sign of the upcoming “gales of November” (Lightfoot reference) that would cost then-head coach Paul MacLean his job.

There are a few things we can glean from this tiny sample size:

The Senators continue to play a solid, simple game on the road. In 2014-15, the Senators were 20-13-8, not much worse than their 23-13-5 record at home. These wins over lesser teams like the Sabres and Maple Leafs are important, because Ottawa wants to beat the clubs it should beat. The non-contending Leafs gave the Senators fits last season, and it was rewarding to be on the right side of another frenzied game (who can forget the two extratime losses to Toronto down the stretch last season?).

The shootout victory at the ACC was all the more important after Ottawa dropped its home opener.

“I think we should be happy, four out of six points,” said Senators captain Erik Karlsson. “If you’d said we’d go three in four (nights) and get four points, we would have been happy with that.

“We’re satisfied, now there are things we’re going to have to improve. That’s how it’s going to be for the other 79 games as well.”

Ottawa’s power play, which had been so effective against the Leafs — 3-for-6 with some terrific puck movement — was 0-for-4 and listless versus the Canadiens.

The soft ice didn’t help. “It felt like the puck wasn’t really sliding,” Karlsson said. “You couldn’t really judge and time where the puck was going to be. It just all of a sudden stopped, and guys were skating by it. That’s how it is sometimes.”

The Habs’ power play was no better, 0-for-7, including one minute, nine seconds of 5-on-3 time, but the copious penalties wreaked havoc on Ottawa’s bench. The specialists — power-play units and penalty kills — got all the ice time, which was not the strategy for a tired team.

“It’s real tough,” Cameron said of the penalties, a few of which were dubious calls. “You’re chasing the game then.

“The biggest thing, when you’re playing back to back and three in four, is you shorten your bench” due to penalties, Cameron added. “A lot of guys are just sitting there. And that’s not good for team as far as getting all four lines going.”

O’CONNOR NEEDS TO PLAY

In his NHL debut, goaltender Matt O’Connor showed well, but needs to settle in and play a bunch of minutes. Sunday’s surprise start was a reward for O’Connor’s tremendous camp. Soon, he should be given the opportunity to settle in as the starting goaltender in AHL Binghamton, and get the AHL apprenticeship Mike Condon was afforded before he made his NHL debut against O’Connor.

Condon certainly had more support from his teammates Sunday. Methot, for one, lamented that the Senators weren’t able to make O’Connor’s debut a winning one.

“We’ve got to be better for him, especially him playing in his first regular-season NHL game,” Methot said. “It’s a big deal for a player and we were a little flat for him.”

O’Connor, a calm, cerebral goalie, didn’t seem to mind. He relished the experience while admitting he has lots to work on.

“I think I battled and showed some perseverance,” O’Connor said, after stopping 31 of 34 Montreal shots. Only the first Tomas Plekanec goal was one he wanted back.

“It’s really motivating when you have management and coaches believe in your ability,” O’Connor said. “And I feel very motivated to keep building off the month I’ve had.”

LAZAR LIMPING AFTER SHOT BLOCK

Winger Curtis Lazar was last seen hobbling on one foot through the dressing room post-game, headed for an X-ray. There was no update on his condition, but Cameron didn’t think it was serious. Lazar went down to block a shot on a penalty kill.