After a very troubling run of games against the Winnipeg Jets, the Ottawa Senators have an opportunity to turn their early season fortunes around this week in a series against the Vancouver Canucks. The Senators, who sit 1-3-1 in the standings, did some good things against the Jets, but were ultimately unable to close the deal in two winnable games. Vancouver should hopefully provide them with a less intimidating opponent.

It’s crazy to think that a team that nearly made the Western Conference Final last season represents an easier task for the Senators than a team that didn’t make it out of the qualifying round, but here we are. Thanks to some utterly disastrous salary cap management practices, the Canucks are a worse team today than they were last year, despite still having both Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes on entry level contracts.

Right now, the Canucks look more like last year’s Ottawa Senators than last year’s Vancouver Canucks. Their star players are struggling. They can’t get a save. Pressure is on ownership, management, and the coaching staff. The situation is ugly.

For context: In the early going of this 2021 season, the Canucks boast a whopping 46.86% shot attempt share and 42.57% expected goal share at five-on-five (Natural Stat Trick). That second number is particularly noteworthy, as it sits third worst in the league and well below that of the Senators. Obviously it’s still incredibly early – and nobody expects Vancouver to continue to struggle *this* much – but it’s quite clear that the Canucks have taken a step back from where they were. So, in this North Division, it’s hard to ask for a better opponent if you’re the Ottawa Senators looking to get back on the right side of the win column; of course, Vancouver is likely thinking the same thing about the Sens.

If Ottawa is going to get the job done and earn a win, they’ll need DJ Smith to commit to actually playing his best players. This roster isn’t deep enough yet to get away with anything less. Decisions that see Colin White sit in the press box while Micheal Haley skates aren’t a recipe for points in the standings. Almost all of the good things that have happened for Ottawa this year – including Drake Batherson establishing himself as a zone entry wizard and Josh Norris contributing consistent offense – have happened when Smith trusts young players and just lets them play. The bad – including two blown saves against the Jets last week – have come with an overreliance on “veteran” players.

Whether lessons have been learned remains to be seen, but there’s no time like the present to turn the tide. It all starts with a win tomorrow night against Vancouver.

As always, thanks for reading.

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