The Ottawa Senators have seemingly found their game at the right time.
Ottawa enters Tuesday’s road tilt with the stumbling Edmonton Oilers at 6-1-1 over their past eight games, most recently ousting their biggest rival.
The Senators dominated the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, outshooting them 40-23 en route to a 5-2 road victory.
“I thought it was a great game,” said Dylan Cozens, who finished with two goals and an assist in the victory. “We came out right from puck drop ready to go, I think we didn’t give up much either and obviously found the back of the net, which is big. I think it was a great 60 minutes.”
Drake Batherson also potted a pair of goals of his own, putting an end to his 10-game goal-less stretch.
“It’s frustrating,” Batherson said of his recent cold snap. “I’ve been through a lot of stretches like that throughout my career, it still makes me as mad as the first time going through that, but it is what it is. You learn, you just gotta continue to work hard, do the right things, and know it will come and trust it. Like I said, they came tonight.”
Thomas Chabot also scored for the Senators and Tim Stutzle extended his point streak to nine games (six goals, six assists) with an assist on Cozen’s second goal of the contest.
After making the playoffs last season following seven straight seasons of disappointment, the Senators will need to continue to build upon their recent string of play as they battle for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference from the outside looking in.
The Oilers come into Tuesday’s matchup with a recent trend of their own, but this is one they hope to conclude.
After falling 5-4 to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, the Oilers have now lost five of their past six games (1-5-0), while allowing an average of 4.66 goals per game over that stretch.
Oilers star Leon Draisaitl didn’t hold back his discouragement when asked about what went wrong during the loss.
“I don’t know, sounds like a broken record, but just giving up too many goals. It’s hard to score five, six goals every night.”
Despite rostering the league’s top scorer in Connor McDavid, who was the first skater to reach 100 points this season (35 goals, 68 assists), the Oilers’ defensive struggles have cost them dearly as they cling onto their top-three spot in the Pacific Division.
“Depth is important, you need your guys chipping in, everybody helping the cause,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch mentioned when questioned about his team’s leadership. “But typically, it’s when your best players are your best players, that’s when you win hockey games. As for tonight, Connor had three points, and it’s all about scoring points, but also playing good defensive hockey. And I think just collectively, we need to step up.”
The Oilers have seen fruitful results against the Senators in recent history, coming out on top in six of the previous seven meetings.
Jake Walman tallied the overtime winning goal to earn a 3-2 road victory for the Oilers when these two teams met earlier this season.
