Coach Travis Green says Senators’ hunger for success has led to turnaround

‘On top of being coachable, they have a burning desire to win, and when you get some results and you start to progress with some wins under your belt, that helps with your coaching.’

Published Jan 27, 2025 • Last updated Jan 28, 2025 • 4 minute read

The Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk celebrates his goal against the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025 in Ottawa. He had gone 10 games without a point before scoring the goal. Photo by Justin Tang /THE CANADIAN PRESSYou had to look up to find the Ottawa Senators in the National Hockey League standings on Monday morning.

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And that was a refreshing step in the right direction.

Coming off back-to-back victories over the arch-rival Toronto Maple Leafs (2-1) on Saturday night in the Battle of Ontario and Sunday’s 3-1 win decision against the Utah Hockey Club, the Senators moved into third place in the Atlantic Division, only five points back of the Florida Panthers.

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We know there are 32 games left and they may not sit in that spot by the time they host the Washington Capitals on Thursday, but it’s a small step in the right direction that the Senators are in the mix with the 4 Nations Face-Off break less than two weeks away.

The Senators are playing confidently but scoreboard-watching just as much as anybody else in this market.

“It’s huge, especially down the road, when points are tight in the standings,” said defenceman Jake Sanderson after Sunday’s win. “There are a lot of teams that are close right now.

“You’re looking at the standings every single day to see whether other teams are winning or losing just to see where they’re at. But the main focus right now is us, and we’re doing a pretty good job with that.”

No kidding.

The Senators had three sets of back-to-back games in January and went 6-0-0. Not only is that impressive, it’s why they’re in the mix for a playoff spot.

Coach Travis Green noted after the win against Utah that he didn’t like the way his team played the first 40 minutes, but noted the Senators found a way to get the job done in the third.

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Ottawa Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen reaches to make a glove save as the Utah Hockey Club’s Barrett Hayton looks for a deflection chance on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025 in Ottawa. With the win, Merilainen improved to 7-3-1 on the season. Photo by Justin Tang /THE CANADIAN PRESSIt helped that they got timely goals from veteran winger Claude Giroux and captain Brady Tkachuk, who halted a 10-game drought without a point.

“We turned over a lot of pucks in the first two periods and then played a more direct north/south period in the third,” Green said. “It’s funny, if you play that way good things happen sometimes.”

The Senators are still struggling to have consistency offensively, especially on the power play, but the improvement they’ve made defensively is thanks to the buy-in on what Green and his staff have been preaching.

Let’s be clear, Green isn’t trying to stifle the offence by having the Senators play better defensively. The club is still creating chances and players are holding their sticks tight.

What we’re witnessing is the maturity of this group.

“Since Day 1, this has been a very coachable team,” Green said. “They’re able to look themselves in the mirror, which is important. As much as there was an excitement level, even for me when I took the job, about the potential of this group, they were also part of the losing, and it’s not just up to someone to come in and change it.

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“They have to make their own changes within themselves, and I think each guy has been open to change. On top of being coachable, they have a burning desire to win, and when you get some results and you start to progress with some wins under your belt, that helps with your coaching.”

The victory over Utah closed out a stretch of 10 games in 16 days for the Senators. The club posted a 7-2-1 record, and that’s why they’ve been able to climb the ladder in the Atlantic.

“It will be good for our group to have a couple of days to reset,” Green said.

The Senators will welcome the break before facing the Caps and we should get a better idea on Wednesday whether goaltender Linus Ullmark will be ready to return from a back injury that has kept him out since Dec. 22.

Ullmark has missed 16 games as a result of the ailment but was a full participant in Saturday’s morning skate before the Senators faced the Leafs and is inching closer to a return.

The Senators didn’t return rookie goalie Leevi Merilainen to their American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville on Monday so we’ll spend the next few days keeping a close eye on practice to see where this goes.

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The 22-year-old Merilainen and veteran goalie Anton Forsberg deserve credit because they’ve done a good job holding this club together while the wait continues for Ullmark to return.

Merilainen has posted a 7-3-1 record in 11 appearances with the Senators this season with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage after making 35 stops against Utah.

“(The goaltender) has been good for sure. We’ve had both guys step up and play really solid,” Green said. “Leevi gave us a great game again (Sunday), he looked calm.

“We’ve had good goaltending here for a while and there’s so much parity in the league you have to have average to above-average goaltending to win.”

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