The Ottawa Senators have not won a game since before Christmas, as their season-high losing streak reached 7 games when they lost to Montreal on Saturday night, who snapped their own 8 game skid.
In a season where Ottawa is looking forward to April 9th when the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery takes place in Toronto, this losing streak is an undercover win for the franchise. The talent in this draft was on full display over the holidays, which is also conveniently when this skid started for the Senators. Saturday’s loss gave them sole possession of 30th place in the league, with only the lowly Red Wings trailing them (who have won 2 in a row).
Regardless of the long term benefits of this streak, it should be noted that losing games is demoralizing for any team. It takes a toll on players, especially those who are expected to carry the load offensively for this team.
In those 7 games, here are some stats for the marquee players on the Sens:
Brady Tkachuk: 1 goal, -7
Jean-Gabriel Pageau: 1 goal, 1 assist, -7
Thomas Chabot: 1 goal, 2 assists, -13
Anthony Duclair: 2 assists, -2 (missed one game due to injury)
Needless to say, when the top guns struggle, so does the whole team, and this has not been a pretty stretch for the team and the top players. However, on the bright side, the Senators have points in their last 2 games as they took Detroit to a shootout and Montreal to overtime.
While losing will benefit this team in the long run, one can only imagine how somber that dressing room is right now.
The Senators will attempt to grab their first win of 2020 on Tuesday at home against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.