Is recent run yet another Senators blip or signs of a real turnaround?

The School of Jacques has been in session for a full month now. 

And the Ottawa Senators‘ kids are really digging in this semester, under the tutelage of professor Jacques Martin, the Senators’ interim head coach. 

With young centre Shane Pinto back in the fold, the Senators stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 in Philly Sunday afternoon, to the delight of the Senators’ moms in the stands. 

Post-game, the moms mobbed Senators winger Vladimir Tarasenko, smothering him with hugs and kisses. As Senators play-by-play man Dean Brown dryly noted, you don’t see that kind of reaction on the dads’ trips. What a joyous dinner that winning group must have in Montreal, as the road trip continues leading up to Tuesday’s date with the Canadiens. 

With the win, the Senators took three of four points on the weekend, which included an entertaining 2-1 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets in Ottawa on Saturday. 

The Senators deserved to win that game and did beat Montreal in their previous outing, Thursday. So, that’s five of six points over their last three games, which could just be another tantalizing blip or the sign of a real turnaround. 

These are three of the best games the Senators have played all season. 

In their past five games, Ottawa has out-shot its opponent, beginning with San Jose (a 5-4 win), then Colorado (7-4 loss), Montreal (6-2 win) and Winnipeg and Philadelphia. 

Against the Flyers, the Senators fell behind 2-0 and then 3-1, but kept calm and carried on. 

Tim Stützle scored twice, including an empty-netter. Tarasenko, Zack MacEwen and Claude Giroux also scored. Giroux, the former Flyers captain, buried the game-tying goal at 3:19 of the third period, in front of many Flyers fans still wearing team gear with Giroux’s name on the back. 

Stützle has three goals and five points in his past three games. 

“A lot of times we have fallen apart when we’re down two goals, and today and against Winnipeg, we kept playing our game,” Stützle said. “Stay composed. Don’t cheat for offence, and play strong defensively. I think that’s what we’ve got to do every night. 

“Obviously it’s not going to work every night, to come back. We have to be ready from the first period. But tonight was a great comeback win for all the guys.”

Defenceman Jake Sanderson was brilliant for the Senators all weekend. Against the Flyers, Sanderson had seven shots on goal and played close to 28 minutes. 

Pinto launch

All eyes were on Pinto’s season debut, after he sat out 41 games for a gambling infraction. In 14 minutes played, Pinto contributed an assist on a Stützle goal off a goal-mouth scramble, and was an astounding 9/10 in the faceoff circle. Clearly, he was working on his draws while sitting out.

Pinto said he felt “awkward” in the first period, but better after that. His defensive play and net front presence were notable. Watching from the stands were a large group of Pinto family and friends.

“It’s awesome,” Pinto said. “Just to have my grandpa here from Florida, he’s getting older now so those kinds of moments are special. You can’t take these things for granted. It was definitely pretty cool.”

It was also “cool” to play in his 100th career game, delayed though it was, although Pinto was more excited about the team victory than his own story. 

“It’s hard to win in this league,” Pinto said, philosophically,  and when you do it’s pretty rewarding.”

For Senators fans, the opportunity to see all their centres back in action was uplifting. To keep all of Stützle, Josh Norris, Pinto and Ridly Greig in the top nine, coach Martin moved Greig over to the wing, alongside Stützle and Drake Batherson. Pinto centered a line with Joseph and Tarasenko. 

Stützle spoke for many in the room when he said that the game meant a lot to Pinto. 

“I think he was pretty nervous at the start, just to get going again,” Stützle said. “But he played awesome, was working really hard and made some really good plays. I thought he was all over the ice. It was awesome to see him come back. A lot of guys had money on the board for him, too, so it was good to have him back.”

Ah, yes. The old “money on the board” reference. Hockey’s tradition of players putting up a few dollars to pay teammates for goals or points in a game of personal significance is just another example of the muddy waters the game plods through with gambling and side bets. 

Pinto’s suspension was over something very different, but gambling is ever present in the league, let us not forget. 

Martin impressed

Quietly, Martin has his team playing the kind of hockey he relishes. Responsible. Tight-checking. 

The Senators did not give up a lot of odd-man rushes this weekend. He said a few weeks ago that this team would have to learn to “win games 2-1.” They very nearly did that on Saturday, only losing by that score on an OT goal by Nikolaj Ehlers. 

Slightly different format against the Flyers, falling behind early but not “falling apart,” to borrow from Stützle’s words. 

“We played very well,” Martin said. “Even after getting behind, we stuck with the game plan, we stuck with our structure and I think we had great commitment from our 20 guys,” Martin said.

“We got contributions from everybody. We did the right things, we didn’t give up one odd-man rush and we played the right way. It shows if you don’t cheat, you have a chance of getting success.”

It all sets up an interesting rematch with the Canadiens on Tuesday, after a chippy game in Ottawa last week.