Senators’ home woes have flipped the script on idea of strong start to season

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OTTAWA — The concept of home is so powerful in our culture that dozens of movies and books have been based on it. 

Look up the word “homecoming,” and the storylines will flow. 

Home is where the heart is. Home, sweet home. Where family is centered and where the prodigal son returns. 

Even in hockey, players relish their “home cooking,” a euphemism for the notion that teams tend to win more at home than on the road. Home comforts. Home ice. 

The Ottawa Senators had to look at their friendly early schedule at home and think that this was finally the season they would get off to a smart start. Eight of their first 12 games were at the Canadian Tire Centre, where they could have last line change, get early leads and feed off the home crowd. 

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Apparently, the visiting teams didn’t get the memo. Because when the Vancouver Canucks handed the Senators a 5-2 loss on Thursday, it was Ottawa’s fifth straight defeat on home ice after a 3-0 record at home to begin the season. Overall, the Sens are 5-7. 

Not coincidentally, those first wins at home over Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Washington had healthier Ottawa rosters. These recent losses have been without defencemen Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom (Artem Zub returned vs. Vancouver) and centre Ridly Greig, whose emergence as a second- or third-line centre was one of the best Ottawa stories in the early weeks of the season. 

But the home trouble began brewing before Greig hurt his leg or Chabot broke his hand. It started with those first two losses at home, to Detroit and Buffalo, critical defeats to Atlantic Division rivals against which the Sens wanted to be measured. 

The Sens have played better on the road, beating the Leafs and Penguins and losing close games to Carolina and the New York Islanders. 

But how to explain five straight losses at the CTC?

“It’s tough, obviously,” said winger Drake Batherson, who scored Ottawa’s first goal of the game to pull to within one of the Canucks late in the first period. 

“I don’t know what the exact answer is, we’re working hard. I think it’s just a matter of getting bounces and playing a full 60 minutes. For the most part, we’ve been right there and clawing back in games.”

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There wasn’t a lot of clawing back in this one. After tying the game 2-2 on a goal by Zub, the Senators gave up the next three. 

The J.T. Miller goal, to the short side of goaltender Anton Forsberg, was a killer. He had to make that save, in the final two minutes of the second period. 

Once again, mistakes were critical. Tim Stützle was stripped of the puck in his own zone on a play that led to Vancouver’s second goal by Ilya Mikheyev at the three-minute mark.

Boom. Three minutes in, and down 2-0. Kind of soul crushing. 

Batherson had a giveaway in the play that directed the Canucks’ fourth goal. That sequence began with Senators captain Brady Tkachuk staring at an empty net, but unable to corral the puck in the crease. 

“On their fourth goal, I’ve got to make a better play, I can’t turn that over at that point of the game, in a 3-2 hockey game,” Batherson said. “That was on me that fourth goal. Things happen quickly out there and you’ve just got to be smart.”

Thursday was another example of the Senators starting slow on home ice, falling behind and trying to rally late. CTC crowds have a tendency of being more reactive than proactive — and the Canucks’ early 2-0 lead took all but those fans wearing Canucks jerseys out of this one early. 

It was another strong gate, this time 16,653. 

“You’ve got to be ready when the game starts,” said Senators head coach D.J. Smith. “We have a turnover on the first shift that ends up in the net. A turnover at 3-2, with lots of clock left, and it ends up in the net. Whether it’s bad bounces or whatever, you’ve just got to take care of it.”

At the risk of stating the obvious, you also need saves. 

The Senators got those saves in Toronto, where Joonas Korpisalo was the best goaltender on the ice on Wednesday. 

Against Vancouver, the Senators didn’t really test backup goalie Casey DeSmith, despite a 30-16 shot advantage. The Canucks had, by far, the better scoring chances. 

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The game took a critical plunge when Forsberg caught a puck on the game’s first shift, but was unable to keep his trapper from crossing over the line. Play continued, but at the next whistle, a review confirmed that the shot by Brock Boeser, off a cross-ice pass from Phillip Di Giuseppe, had crossed the goal line. Just 15 seconds into the game. Some late-arriving fans were still parking their cars while their team was falling behind 1-0. 

“What I don’t like is getting scored on 15 seconds into a game,” Smith said. “When you have the opportunity to start, you have to be on your toes, and the first time you touch the puck, you better know what you’re doing with it. You’ve got to give them nothing.”

Forsberg made a great effort to get across for the shot, but was too deep in his net to keep the puck out. 

“I figured it would be close (to being over the line),” Forsberg said. “I want to see the footage before I comment on it.”

He caught it, released it, and play went on. Vancouver actually took subsequent shots on him that ended up getting taken off the board because of the goal ruling.  

“At first I thought the ref blew the whistle,” Forsberg said. “It was a weird situation, I saw my glove by the post. It was tough. A tough start for sure.”

A tough start by the group, at home. 

The Senators have one more home game this week before leaving for two games in Stockholm, Sweden, next week. 

On Saturday, they catch the Calgary Flames coming off a Hall of Fame game in Toronto Friday night, which figures to be long and distracting for a visiting team. 

The Sens have to have this win on Saturday to leave for Sweden with better vibes on that overseas plane and a chance to get over .500 with a victorious trip to Sweden. 

These are technically Ottawa “home” games away from home, against the Red Wings and Minnesota Wild.

More from Sportsnet

Canucks well aware of miscues despite road win over Senators

Batherson, Zub score for Senators in loss to streaking Canucks

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