With just one goal in his last 17 games, Drake Batherson’s offensive game has fallen way off in the last several weeks. The post Missing In Action: Drake Batherson appeared first on Ottawa Hockey Now.

A commitment to defence has been a central theme for the Senators, not just Tkachuk, under new head coach Travis Green. The Senators have the sixth-best goals-against rate in the league, a 180-degree turn from the fifth-worst in the league last season.

The Ottawa Senators have reached the midpoint of their season, still alive in hopes of ending their lengthy playoff drought. We’ve put together a midseason assessment of everyone’s performance, including the head coach and general manager.

Coach Travis Green pointed out mistakes that led to the loss to the Boston Bruins and sent a message to the Ottawa Senators' offense, which includes NHL star Brady Tkachuck.

Ridly Greig hadn't scored in 13 games. Claude Giroux hadn't scored in 14. And captain Brady Tkachuk hadn't scored in 11. Those three were the goal scorers tonight, as the Sens beat Utah 3-1. Leevi Meriläinen made 34 saves in the win, and deserves the lion's share of the credit for tonight's win.

Pinto scored his ninth of the season after Matthew Highmore’s pass deflected off Pinto’s knee to give Ottawa (24-20-4) a 2-1 lead with 9:13 remaining in regulation. Both Joseph Woll, with 22 saves, and Anton Forsberg, with 27, were solid, especially the Ottawa netminder in the dying minutes of the third.

The wrinkle for Giroux and the Senators is that the parties face a contractual dilemma. The veteran is in the final year of his three-year, $19.5 million contract that he signed on July 13, 2022. Giroux can test the open market this summer as an impending unrestricted free agent.

When: Saturday, 7 p.m., Canadian Tire Centre TV: CBC, Sportsnet Radio: TSN 1050 Odds: Maple Leafs -115, Senators -105 THE BUZZ The Senators didn’t spend Friday trying to regain a scoring touch, as they took the day off and didn’t practise.

Shane Pinto scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Ottawa Senators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1.

One big key to the Senators emerging victorious over Toronto was Pinto’s play against Leafs superstar Auston Matthews. Pinto played over 13 minutes against Matthews at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick. Matthews played 22:47 but had just one shot in the loss, snapping his five-game points streak.

The Ottawa Senators are hosting the “battle of Ontario” for the only team of the season as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ fans travel to the nation’s capitol to see the second meeting of the Ontario teams this season.

Brady Knox is a breaking news reporter for the Washington Examiner with a particular focus on Russia, Eastern Europe, and foreign affairs. Hailing from Pittsburgh, he graduated from Miami ...