Senators needs a boost in offense to keep team in the playoff hunt

After a season that has been incredibly promising for an Ottawa Senators team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2017, they’ve had their fair share of offensive struggles recently. Their 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins was the second straight game they’ve been shut out in, and they’ve now been blanked 5 times in their last 11 games. When they need every point they can get in a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference, that’s a huge concern.

Frank Seravalli talked on Daily Faceoff Live about the Senators offense, and his level of concern for them right now.

Frank Seravalli: With the Senators offense, it’s an eight [out of 10]. With the Senators as a whole, it’s a six. I think this is a good team, not a great team. A team that has flaws, but one that, with Linus Ullmark back, looks like a totally different group. And to be honest, the fact that we are entering February and this team is squarely in the mix, for a group of core players that have only been used to their season being over by November, to withstand this Ullmark injury and that lengthy road trip that was hellacious surrounding the World Juniors, and still be in the mix, I think they deserve some credit for the fight that they have.

I think that they’ve had way better attention to detail this year under Travis Green. The fact that they haven’t scored the way that they’d like to, and their numbers on the defensive side of the puck are really quite impressive, speaks to the job that Green and his staff have done in terms of changing the attitude and approach from this group.

That said, they could definitely use more of a boost, especially in their middle six. I think they’ve got the top end players to produce, but they need that second and third wave that I think has been missing in Ottawa. I see too much one and done when I watch their team. They get a look, they get an opportunity, and not a ton of sustained offensive zone time, which really stands out.

You can watch the full episode here…