Welcome to Top-Shelf Takes, a weekly series from staff writer Mary Clarke all about the NHL. Lace up your skates as we dive deep into the epic highs and lows of this little sport called hockey.
No one saw this run coming from the Ottawa Senators.
On January 22, the Senators’ record stood at 20-23-3. The team was one day removed from the Winnipeg Jets absolutely wiping the floor with them in a 5-1 loss at home. The situation looked dire and with the powerhouses in the Atlantic Division locking down nearly all the playoff spots, it seemed as if the Senators were set to be out of luck.
Since then, however, the Senators have gone 12-4-1. This run over the last month and a half has revitalized their playoff hopes, with the Senators sitting three points out of a wild card spot with 19 games left to play. As the stragglers in the Eastern Conference — namely the Penguins and Islanders — struggle to keep their playoff positions, the Senators (and others) have slowly gained ground in recent weeks.
I’ve talked up the Buffalo Sabres playoff chances before, so it’s only fair that I give the Senators some love here too.
This most recent push by the Senators has been quite impressive. The impetus for it all stems from crucial back-to-back dominant wins against the Detroit Red Wings. Like the Senators, the Red Wings had been keeping pace with the playoff hopeful pack, with those two games against Ottawa a test for the team ahead of the trade deadline.
The Senators won those two games by a combined score of 12-3.
While Ottawa’s recent five-game win streak came to a screeching halt after a 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, the Senators are the team to watch right now in the playoff race. A lot of that is thanks to great relief goaltending from Kevin Mandolese and Mads Sogaard after some unfortunate injuries to Ottawa’s netminders. Plus, the Senators offense has started to come alive in the last few weeks due to clutch contributions from Claude Giroux, Tim Stutzle, and more.
And it’s thanks to the hard work of players like Giroux that the Senators went out to make a big splash at the trade deadline for Jakob Chychrun in the first place.
Dorion – we owe it to our players to do something to help the push. Our players said please do something. I also made a promise to Claude Giroux to get something done.
— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) March 2, 2023
There’s a lot of hype around this Senators team to play spoiler to a playoff team by sneaking into the wild card at the eleventh hour. And I get why. After all, who doesn’t love a good dark horse story come playoff time?
That being said, I would heavily advise against getting your hopes up for this Senators team. As of Wednesday, the Senators have the NHL’s second-hardest strength of schedule remaining, according to Tankathon. In the next few weeks, the Senators will have to face the likes of the Oilers and the Bruins, with two meetings each against the Maple Leafs, the Lightning, and the Hurricanes.
Talk about a tall order, especially if the Senators best goaltenders remain out long-term. It’s not completely unreasonable that the Senators find another gear this late in the season and make the playoffs off a ridiculous end-of-season run, but it has to start today. Ottawa will need to brush off that brutal Chicago loss, put it in the rearview mirror, and get back to it.
The road ahead of the Senators isn’t an easy one. These last few weeks have been a fun ride for the previously listless Senators, but now is when the real work begins. Given the competition they’ll have to face to get it done and the odds stacked against them, don’t be surprised if the Senators’ playoff dreams ultimately fall short.
Three stars
3. The Pacific Division completes a rare feat
It’s not often you see all of the teams in a division win their last games played. Entering Tuesday, however, the Pacific Division did just that, as all eight teams had wins coming into those day’s games.
Every single team in the Pacific Division won their last game. How about that? pic.twitter.com/TjSk9BfZAG
— DracoFire (@YaBoiTheGenius) March 7, 2023
While things are a little more sure in the Western Conference playoff picture, the Calgary Flames could very well make a late push if they can get their act together quickly enough. Exciting times in the NHL!
2. Connor McDavid continues to be magic
We’re so incredibly blessed to be watching hockey at the same time as McDavid is playing. On Monday against the Sabres, McDavid scored his 53rd and 54th goals of the season, ending the night with 124 points on the year. The total now surpasses his career high of 123 set last season.
MCDAVID MAGIC‼️
Connor McDavid sets a new career-high 124 points🤩 pic.twitter.com/o1ovihxYz7
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 7, 2023
How high will McDavid be able to go? It seems as if the sky’s the limit for the best hockey player in the world.
1. Bruins’ dominance shows no signs of stopping
We’re five weeks out from the end of the 2022-23 season and the Bruins still are the only team in the NHL without double digit regulation losses. After some tidy business at the trade deadline, the Bruins continue to dominate every team they come across to the tune of a 10-game win streak coming into Wednesday. And Boston could even secure a playoff spot as early as this week too!
It feels like this Bruins team is set to absolutely smash the NHL record for most wins in a season (62, currently held by the Red Wings and Lightning) come mid-April. With 49 wins already this year and 20 games left to play, the Bruins are well on their way to cementing an excellent season with a spot in the NHL’s history books.
What to watch
Penguins vs. Islanders – Thursday, March 9
These two Eastern Conference wild card teams can’t afford to lose valuable points, but one of them will have to when they face off against one another on Thursday. Both the Penguins and Islanders have been middling as of late, opening the door for other teams in the East to make a run at a playoff spot. This game should be fueled by desperation and have a playoff-like atmosphere as these teams battle it out for two incredibly important points.
Bruins vs. Oilers – Thursday, March 9
The NHL’s best player in McDavid versus the NHL’s best team in the Bruins? How can you resist! With all the talent on display here, from McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, the entertainment factor alone will be well worth the price of admission here.
Flames vs. Senators – Sunday, March 12
Sunday’s game against the Flames will be a good test for the Senators. Calgary’s season isn’t over yet, as the Flames still have fine odds to make the playoffs, but they’re sitting out of a wild card spot as of Wednesday. If the Senators want to prove they have what it takes to make a run at the playoffs in the East, this game has to be theirs for the taking.
You can watch the 2022-23 NHL season streaming on ESPN+.
