MARTIN GETTING THROUGH TO SENATORS
Veteran coach's message of two-way play starting to resonate with Ottawa players
As Jacques Martin was making his way out of the media room at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday night, an old school scribe noted the late Roger Neilson would have loved the fancy patterned tie he was wearing.
“Yeah, but he never would have paid for it,” Martin said with a wry smile.
The Senators interim head coach brought his dry sense of humour back for his second stint with the club and while it might have taken a little longer than anybody expected, Martin's message about the way he wants his team to play is paying dividends.
As they prepare to host the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, the Senators are coming off a 4-1 home-ice victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday and it was a textbook two points that reminded those of us who have been around a long time of the good old days under Martin.
The best way to describe that win? Refreshingly boring.
That's because the Senators were able to capitalize on their chances, outshot the Stars 30-15, chased top goalie Jake Oettinger in the second period after he allowed three goals on 11 shots, and didn't give up many opportunities that forced Anton Forsberg to make big saves.
The Senators head into the game against the Knights with a 6-3-1 record in their last 10 games and, perhaps, this team has finally started to turn the corner.
“I see a group that's maturing,” Martin said. “Their mindset has been a lot better. This is a group that I think is getting more resilient. I feel like I can be hard with them at times about certain areas and that's maybe part of the motivation for them.
“At the same time, my job as a coach is to point out the areas where we need to be better and what they need to work at. I also point out the things that they've done well. From Day 1, I've told them I think there's some really good players and the job of the coaches is try to get everybody to play to the best of their abilities.”
When Steve Staios, the Senators president of hockey operations and general manager, asked Martin to step behind the bench with former captain Daniel Alfredsson as an assistant, the move was made with the hope they could help set the foundation for the young players to work the right way.
Martin, 71, is the winningest coach in franchise history because he commands respect. In 720 games behind the Senators bench, Martin has a 354-247-86-23 record. The win Thursday pushed his record past .500, to 13-12-3, since his return.
Martin is making core talent such as Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Shane
Pinto, Drake Batherson, Ridly Greig, Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson understand that if they do things the right way, then winning can be just as fun and you're not going to sacrifice offence.
You can be certain alternate captain Claude Giroux, who has had a strong career because of his willingness to play at both ends of the ice, has done a good job making sure the rest of his teammates understand that the way Martin wants this team to play is going to bring results.
The Senators are showing commitment in all three zones.
“That's the only way we're going to win,” said Pinto, who scored his fourth of the year on the power play. “It took some time for us to learn that but I think we're starting to realize that if we do that, then we're going to be pretty successful.
“It's just maturing and knowing what it takes to win.”
What the Senators have to avoid is the massive steps backward and if they do that, then we'll know for certain they've turned the corner. This is the same team that dropped a 5-1 decision to the Anaheim Ducks only 10 days ago at home and followed it with a 3-2 loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago a week ago.
“We do have to do a better job of trying to be more consistent in all games, no matter who we play,” Pinto said. “When we do play these top teams, we seem to play our best, but that's got to be more consistent.”
There was just something about the style the Senators showed in the win over the Stars that reminded those of us who have been around a long time of the way this team played when Martin took over in 1996 and then went on to help make the organization a force to be reckoned with every spring.
Somewhere up there in the heavens, Neilson probably had a wide smile and chuckle when he heard Martin's one-liner.
While Neilson wouldn't have doled out the cash that Martin did to buy that fancy tie, he always understood you can have more success in this league if players are willing to pay the price at both ends.
Martin's message appears to be rubbing off on the Senators.