Ottawa Senators trudge home after uninspiring loss to St. Louis Blues

They'll have a couple of days to regroup before capping a nine-game stretch of road games Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Published Jan 04, 2025  •  4 minute read

Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg pauses after giving up a goal to Blues forward Brandon Saad during the second period of Friday's NHL hockey game in St. Louis. Photo by Jeff Roberson /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward.

The Ottawa Senators are hopeful that a couple of days in their own homes will help get them back on track after they dropped a second straight game 4-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.

Instead of sitting for three days in the Motor City, where they’ll face the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, the Senators returned to the nation’s capital. The Canadian team’s early exit from the 2025 IIHF world junior hockey championship on Thursday meant Ottawa could use its facilities at the Canadian Tire Centre again.

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While they may not be able to skate at their home rink, the Senators will be able to enjoy the comforts of the city before they head to Detroit on Monday. Tuesday’s contest against the Red Wings at Little Ceasar’s Arena wraps up a stretch of nine straight road games.

The Senators looked road-weary in a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday at the American Airlines Center, and they weren’t much better against the Blues.

Maybe this short hiatus in Ottawa will serve them well heading into another big month on the National Hockey League schedule.

Let’s put it this way: After stops in Seattle, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, St. Paul, Dallas and St. Louis, it can’t hurt. The Senators have a 4-4-0 record on this trip and a win in Detroit would give them a record above .500 on a stretch that has been daunting.

Senators forward Tim Stützle of the Ottawa Senators loses control of the puck in the crease in front of Blues netminder Jordan Binnington during the second period on Friday night. Photo by Dilip Vishwanat /Getty Images

“It’s been a long month,” winger Drake Batherson told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson following Friday’s loss in St. Louis. “We’ve been on the road with the world juniors at home. It will be nice to get back, regroup a bit and then head to Detroit.

“We’re .500 when you look at the last eight games on the road, so we can look at that and take a positive out of that, but it’s been a tough couple of games to end it. It will be nice to get home, give everyone a chance to see their families, have a day off and then get back at it.”

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The Senators went into Saturday night’s action sitting in the second wildcard spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, but they have lost four of the past five games.

That trend can’t continue as the midpoint of the season approaches if the Senators are going to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. They need to get back some of the consistency they showed during a six-game winning streak in December.

The hope is that No. 1 goalie Linus Ullmark will be ready to return to action soon after a back ailment forced him to miss the past four games.

Ullmark left the Senators’ 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 22 early and hasn’t been seen since. A social-media post by the Swedish team for the world junior championship on Thursday showed Ullmark addressing that squad before it beat Latvia in a quarterfinal, but it’s not known if he’s been skating yet.

It’s no coincidence the Senators have struggled without him.

Ullmark was 8-0-1 in his last nine games. with a 1.48 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage, before he was injured.

Senators head coach Travis Green was quick to point out after the loss in St. Louis that the Senators needed to do more to create more offensively and that’s a fact because their forwards haven’t done a whole lot recently.

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But it didn’t help that they lacked big saves by goaltender Anton Forsberg. He returned after missing six games with a lower-body injury before a Dec. 14 home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but just wasn’t good at all.

Blues forward Brandon Saad scores on Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg during the second period of Friday’s contest at St. Louis. Photo by Jeff Roberson /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Batherson noted the Senators “hung (Forsberg) out to dry” by allowing the Blues to score on back-to-back breakaways in the first period, but it would have helped if he made a big save or two.

Since Nov. 25, Forsberg has had a 1-3-0 record, a 3.56 goals-against average and a .843 save percentage. His play has been below average for a while and that trend has to change because NHL teams need their backup goalies to secure some wins, too.

Though rookie Leevi Meriianen has shown promise with a 2-2-0 record since being called up from Belleville of the American Hockey League, the Senators can’t rush him to the NHL, either. Merilainen has a 3.10 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage, which isn’t good enough at this level.

But there is no question the Senators must play better in front of their goaltenders no matter who is in the crease.

Green put Ottawa’s forward lines in a blender during this most recent stretch of the trip, but it hasn’t resulted in a whole lot of offence. The Senators have plenty of skill and scoring ability, but it hasn’t shown itself enough lately and that has to be concerning.

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