Travis Green saw a locker room hungry for success.
Hired to lead a skilled group that had fallen well short of expectations, the Ottawa Senators new head coach also found a talented core acutely aware of its own shortcomings.
"They're all very coachable," Green said. "As much as they're part of the answer to winning, they've been part of the problem."
The Senators, it seems, are finally starting to figure out the formula.
Without a playoff appearance since its march to the 2017 Eastern Conference final — the organization went on to produce a pockmarked run of ugly results and headlines over the next seven seasons — Ottawa has looked different in 2024-25.
More committed to structure and details, the club picked up road victories against Atlantic Division rivals Boston and Toronto over the last week, including Tuesday's emphatic 3-0 shutout of the Maple Leafs where the Senators (8-7-0) owned the puck most of the night.
"I'm really confident in our group," said centre Tim Stutzle. "We can beat any team."
There's also been an expected learning curve in the nation's capital. Ottawa was disjointed during a recent loss in Buffalo and then again two nights later at home against the New York Islanders.
"If you play a certain way, you can have success," Green said. "And if you don't play that way, you're not going to."
Getting buy-in from Ottawa's young stars, led by Stutzle and captain Brady Tkachuk, has been a crucial.
"Our guys came in with a different mindset," said 22-year-old Stutzle, who already has seven goals after registering just 17 last season. "You're always trying to win, but you don't understand what it takes in the NHL to win when you're that young.
"We have it this year. We know what we've got to do. We know the way we've got to play."
Finally shoring up the crease has been a huge part of the equation. A franchise that has struggled to consistently keep the puck out of its net since Craig Anderson left town, Ottawa acquired former Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark from Boston before signing him to a four-year contract extension last month.
Apart from his pedigree and numbers, Ullmark has brought swagger to a position that was a near-constant headache.
"This isn't success," he cautioned of the solid start following his first Ottawa shutout. "This is just hard work day in, day out. It's a tough schedule, a lot of back-and-forth. A lot of maturity has to come … doing what's right for yourself, but also what's right for the team."
Green, meanwhile, has fostered a culture of accountability.
"Keeps everybody honest," said the 31-year-old Ullmark. "We know that if you're not up to snuff, then you're probably going to sit a little bit. You have to do the right things."
Depth forward Noah Gregor is also in his first campaign with the Senators.
"I don't think they've been too happy with the way their seasons have gone," he said. "Everyone's committed to working the right way."
Green, whose team entered Wednesday with the NHL's fourth-best power play, said his players are still honing their on-ice identity.
"Teams that are in the playoffs for a while, they know," he said. "They know what it takes to win, how their team needs to play individually, collectively to have success.
"It's got to start with our skating and our work. When we do that, we play connected."
Ullmark said winning the right way — he did lots of that in Boston — is addictive.
"Get a little bit of taste of it, they understand that, 'OK, this is actually pretty fun,'" he said. "When you work hard and you're doing all the right things, it feels a lot better."
That process started with some long off-season looks in the mirror before the players reconvened under new leadership.
"They've really been open to honest communication," Green said. "They're buying into playing a certain way that is conducive to winning hockey.
"Not just scoring hockey."
HALL CALL
Shea Weber and Pavel Datsyuk entered the Hockey Hall of Fame this week in their first years of eligibility. The class of 2025 could include an even larger freshman crop. Carey Price, Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton and Duncan Keith will all be eligible to get their hall call when selections are made in June.
MCDAVID MAGIC
Connor McDavid is on the cusp of joining elite company — again. The Edmonton Oilers captain sits one point shy of 1,000 for his career after putting up a goal and three assists Tuesday. Set to play his 659th game Thursday at home against Nashville, McDavid can become the fourth-fastest player to reach the milestone behind only Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513 games) and Mike Bossy (656 games). "We are not talking greatness," Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. "We are talking legendary type stuff."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
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Joshua Clipperton's weekly NHL notebook is published every Wednesday.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
