Travis Hamonic – “There’s No Sugarcoating Our Schedule” As the Senators Head To Pittsburgh

No one could’ve asked for a better effort from the Ottawa Senators Saturday night. The Senators peppered 52 shots on goal, 93 shot attempts in total versus Matt Murray in his first appearance in Ottawa as Toronto Maple Leaf.

Even though the Senators were outshooting the Maple Leafs by a wide margin, they trailed 4-2 with 10:21 remaining. Not only did the team display resilience to come back and tie the game, they did so twice. The first came with 1:52 on the clock when Alex DeBrincat one-timed Claude Giroux‘s pass. But alas, DeBrincat was ruled a step offside via a coach’s challenge.

But the Senators weren’t done; Maple Leafs defenseman T.J. Brodie was penalized for tripping with 46 seconds remaining in regulation. Brady Tkachuk then scored his second of the game, his career-tying 30th goal, flipping home a rebound of Giroux’s shot with only 10.1 ticks to go to even the game at four.

The Senators also had two glorious opportunities to finish the game in overtime.

Murray made a pad stop off a Tim Stützle breakaway and Tkachuk snapped a shot off the crossbar that went bar down hitting the ice.

Overtime was followed by a nine-round shootout which saw Alex Kerfoot tally the game-winner on a night in which the Senators deserved a better fate.

A distraught D.J. Smith was proud of the effort of his players, but leaving a point on the table was a bitter pill to swallow, especially with only 13 games remaining in the season.

“I thought we played real hard. I thought for stretches we carried the play. We did make some mistakes, but to a man, we came to win today and it didn’t work out…We’ll take the point. You can’t fault the guys. They’re playing as hard as they can. You want to come out with two (points). You’re right there in overtime and you want to come out with two. We had some real good looks – one hit the bar. You can’t ask for much more,” said the Senators’ head coach postgame.

While the door isn’t completely closed on the club which trails the final wildcard spot currently held by the Pittsburgh Penguins, they’re running out of track.

With 13 games to play, the Senators trail the Penguins by seven points. However, the team has a prime opportunity to cut the Pens’ leads to five when the clubs face each other in Pittsburgh Monday.

It won’t be an easy one for the Senators. Though the Senators are 1-1 versus the Penguins in their 2022-23 season series, they’re winless in their past 10 visits to the PPG Paints Arena dating back to the 2017 playoffs.

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Veteran d-man Travis Hamonic is realistic in knowing his club has very little wiggle room when it comes to closing out their campaign, but also realizes the task will be tough due to the Senators’ remaining schedule.

“I mean, I guess we’ll keep saying that – as long as we’re trucking, right? So I’m sure we’re gonna have a couple of these coming up, but we expect a good game from our group (Monday). You know, even last time we were in there, we didn’t play really to our standards. So just for that aspect, I think that we come in and pitch away a better game as a group and we’ll be ready, and that’s it. We’re gonna get there. Refocus and take all the positives out of this one.” 

The Senators’ schedule has been and continues to be daunting. Having already faced Edmonton, Colorado, Toronto in the past six days, they now meet Pittsburgh and Boston on back-to-back nights, prior to returning home Thursday to play Tampa.

“There’s no sugarcoating our schedule. But you know to get in, you’ve got to play some good hockey. So we’ll start with some of the best teams in the league and start chipping away,” added Hamonic.

The Senators will have a fresh face on the roster when they gather for their morning skate Monday. Goalie Dylan Ferguson was recalled from Belleville Sunday, while Kevin Mandolese was re-assigned to the club’s American League affiliate.

Ferguson who backstopped the BSens to a 4-1 win in Cleveland Saturday has lifted Belleville into the North Division playoff race.

Acquired in a trade prior to the deadline from the Toronto Marlies, the Dallas Stars 2017 194th overall Entry Draft selection has posted a 5-1 record, 2.00 goals against average, and .935 save percentage in his six appearances with Belleville.

Ferguson who was dealt by the Stars to the Vegas Golden Knights in a swap that saw former Senator Marc Methot land in Dallas, has nine minutes of NHL experience in a mop-up role for Vegas in November 2017 but has spent time on the Knights bench as an emergency backup on previous occasions.

The former Kamloops Blazer will be the likely starter in Boston Tuesday. But first, the Senators will need to pick up two points in Pittsburgh Monday if they wish to have any chance of staying in the race to playoffs.