Fast starts a key as Senators getting contributions throughout the lineup

The past eight days, a terrific five-game stretch for the Ottawa Senators, could have been the turning point in a drive toward the playoffs.

The emphasis is on “could have been.”

But Senators fans know all too well that’s not going to happen.

With five straight wins — 5-2 over New Jersey, 5-3 over Edmonton, 6-2 over Buffalo, 2-0 over Chicago and, the latest, 3-2 in Winnipeg on Saturday — the Senators avoided doing many of the things that have made them mediocre much of this season.

There was good rebound control, their goalies played extremely well, defencemen stayed between the opposing player and the Ottawa net, the forwards backchecked. And more.

You wonder, where has this been all season?

“Our start to the game,” Senators coach Jacques Martin explained to TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson on Saturday. “When I look at those five games, we’ve had some good starts. Another component, our defensive play has been better. It’s tougher to get into our zone. Our defence has stood up more, there are better gaps. There’s help from the forwards coming back to help.

“Also, we’re getting contributions from different people. (Saturday), we got a goal from (Ridly) Greig, we got a goal from (Boris) Katchouk. You’re getting production from your bottom six forwards; that’s really important.”

“Goaltending, defence, forwards, power play, penalty kill, everything’s really coming together,” said Greig. “It’s fun to play like that.”

“It’s the little things everybody’s been doing the past few games; you see the results we’ve had,” said Brady Tkachuk, who scored the gamewinner against the Jets.

If you’re looking for a good reason why the Senators will be on the outside looking in come playoff time, how about this? Going into Saturday’s game in Winnipeg, they were 0-13-1 on the road against the Western Conference this season. Zero wins. That’s tough to bounce back from in the standings.

“I’ve seen the numbers of us (playing teams in) the Western Conference on the road this year, so (it was) nice to get the win (Saturday),” said Tkachuk.