Sens Writer: Senators Win 8-7 (OT) vs. Kings in Wild Afternoon Game

if OTT continues to play like they did in the first 3 games, they will the favorite for 1st OA selection at the 2025 draft.

Defensively they are playing like the previous years, the PK is nearly non-existent and the PK coach should be fired immediately, you cannot be that passive on the PK and expect not to be scored on most of the time.

they still playing the old dj smith way of letting the other team shoot, hope it does not go in, hope to get possession and then attack.

Ullmark won the first game, OTT got owned by MTL in the 2nd and LAK sucked just as bad as OTT in the 3rd game.

From a fan perspective, yesterday’s game was the most exciting regular season game for the Sens that we have seen in years. It was honestly great to watch. Emotional roller coaster and quality offense.

I don’t think the Sens defense was great by any means but when you have goaltending that is barely stopping 60% of the shots they are facing, even Norris-trophy caliber defense would look bad. It would be nice to move on from Forsberg and Soogard. With Forsbergs contract, that is easier said than done. Soogard feels like he just can’t adjust to the NHL game. Smallest looking 6’7 guy I have seen. Ullmark should provide consistency (assuming he is healthy) but you need a back-up that can keep up a similar level of play against weaker teams.

I thought the Sens resilience was outstanding. They didn’t lay down like they have in the past. They kept up their level of play, outplayed LA, and the team that should have won, ultimately won. I felt Nick Cousins made a key play to get under the skin of LA and draw a penalty when they were down 2-0. It was only a shift or two after it happened. Game could have gone south in a hurry but that play seemed to keep the team “in” the game.

There are kinks to work out for sure but nice to see the offense go off and watch a team who didn’t lay down and die when they fell behind by two goals multiple times in the game.

if OTT continues to play like they did in the first 3 games, they will the favorite for 1st OA selection at the 2025 draft.

Defensively they are playing like the previous years, the PK is nearly non-existent and the PK coach should be fired immediately, you cannot be that passive on the PK and expect not to be scored on most of the time.

they still playing the old dj smith way of letting the other team shoot, hope it does not go in, hope to get possession and then attack.

Ullmark won the first game, OTT got owned by MTL in the 2nd and LAK sucked just as bad as OTT in the 3rd game.
- Mithos

100% agree.

Quote not working replying to Gord above...

Agreed on the resilience.

Tsn said there were some losing habits ingrained in this team. This is true, but last year I'm not sure this teak comes back last year. Maybe, they can start to turn this thought process around.

On top of the teams resilience, at a certain point I had beleif that they could come back, even though they kept being scored on. Last season I'm.not sure that would have happened.

Hoping the offense can continue to get into gear, nice get some spread out offense especially from the D. Next game would be great to see some of the 3rd liners get going.

if OTT continues to play like they did in the first 3 games, they will the favorite for 1st OA selection at the 2025 draft.

Defensively they are playing like the previous years, the PK is nearly non-existent and the PK coach should be fired immediately, you cannot be that passive on the PK and expect not to be scored on most of the time.

they still playing the old dj smith way of letting the other team shoot, hope it does not go in, hope to get possession and then attack.

Ullmark won the first game, OTT got owned by MTL in the 2nd and LAK sucked just as bad as OTT in the 3rd game.
- Mithos

this post might make sense 15 games in, not 3

Smallest looking 6’7 guy I have seen. Ullmark should provide consistency (assuming he is healthy) but you need a back-up that can keep up a similar level of play against weaker teams.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Agree 100%. Mads has slow lateral movement. Strikes me as a goalie who expects the puck to hit him, and plays positionally, and always wonders why the goals are scored, since he was technically in the right spot (See Reimer, James).

Forsberg at his price is a horrible backup. He has stole games before but he also lost us games. And having a backup that loses you games is the absolute worst for that position. And having a backup that you can't trust is awful. Changes the way everyone plays in front the crease.

as a team, you definitely don't want to play your emergency backup!

Ullmark dealing with a strain. Sens being "cautious" with their approach.

We can't have nice things....

I'm not one for the doom and gloom some are putting forward, however it's true that the schedule will ratchet up a notch over the next week and a half. The next 5 games will include NJD, TBL, UTA, VGK, and COL... 3 of the past 4 Stanley Cup winning teams, and two of the highest-scoring young teams so far this year. That stretch of 5 games also features a 3-game road trip, which I suspect will reveal the extent to which they can assert their game plan without the benefit of last change or home ice.

If ullmark sits, would you start Soogard or Forsberg Thursday?

If ullmark sits, would you start Soogard or Forsberg Thursday?
- david22

I think you have to give Forsberg the chance to do his job... the question is how long do you wait to pull him if he doesn't. His first start of the year only lasted 3 goals/26 minutes on Monday, plus a disallowed goal. Looking back, Green rolled the dice in quite a big way by putting an AHL goaltender into a game that he knew had a low probability of success given the 3-1 score with only 5 D-men playing. The fact that it worked despite Sogaard putting up a 0.765 sv% is almost preposterous.

As for Sogaard not taking advantage of his size, from what I've seen his leg quickness is excellent, but that same leg strength may result in too much unnecessary motion and impact his positioning. Ullmark, by comparison, is just so much more efficient in his movement. I'd like to see him mentor Sogaard for at least a year to see if they could tighten up his mechanics. But the clock on Sogaard is ticking, and if he doesn't show more progress in his NHL you could see the team place more emphasis on Merilainen's development.

Great entertainment. Teams can grow from this kind of experience. Coaches are no doubt thinking about a tighter defensive structure. But make no mistake, goaltending changes how the entire team gets viewed.