Batherson’s dominant game vs. Blackhawks a good sign for Senators

OTTAWA — This season, the Ottawa Senators have struggled to score, but when you look closely into their offensive pitfalls, one player jumps out. 

Drake Batherson.

However, Batherson was the solution in Chicago on Wednesday evening in the Ottawa Senators’ 4-3 overtime win at the United Center, a place where, astonishingly, Ottawa has now won only four times in history. 

“Me and Brady (Tkachuk) were talking before the game, he’s like, ‘Drake, we haven’t won here in seven years. We should probably win tonight,’” said Batherson.

Batherson made sure they would be victorious, displaying his elite skill, physicality and vision with two key primary assists in the win. But it’s been a bumpy stretch for Batherson recently. 

Sportsnet.ca asked Travis Green about Batherson’s game last week. 

“Maybe a little sporadic lately, but Drake, I think he’s a hell of a player,” said Green. 

“I’m not worried about Drake.”

After a chaotic start to the game when Ottawa fell down 2-1, giving up two goals in 44 seconds, Batherson responded 107 seconds later. Batherson used his big frame to ride past (maybe future Senator) Ryan Donato for a wraparound that rebounded into the air for David Perron to bat it out of mid-air to tie the game 2-2. 

The last time Batherson was this dominant was on Dec. 11 when he scored his second career hat-trick against the Anaheim Ducks. To that point, Batherson had 32 points in 28 games and was on pace for a career-best season. At the time, Ottawa’s issues were finding ways to win and keeping the puck out of the net. Ottawa was 14th in goals per game and had the fourth-best power play. Batherson had seven goals and 16 points with the man advantage. 

After that, Batherson’s numbers fell off dramatically, and so has the Senators’ offence. 

CF% and xGF% at five-on-five according to Natural StatTrick.

Batherson told Sportsnet.ca why he thinks his production had dropped off.

“It’s tough to say. I wish I could put a finger on it,” said Batherson last week. “I probably have to have a little bit more of an attack mentality. I was talking to some of the coaches this morning about it, and at the start of the year, I think I was attacking more, and if it wasn’t there for a shot, that I’d make a play. Whereas now, I’m looking to make a play all the time. Where I just got to get back to more of an attacking mentality, try to score myself, and then if that’s not there, make a play.”

That attack mentality was demonstrated in the second period when Batherson found the puck in the slot, and instead of just shooting, he made an assertive pass straight onto the stick of Josh Norris who wired a one-timer home to give Ottawa the 3-2 lead. 

“I saw him, he had his stick up in the air,” said Batherson on finding Norris for the goal. “And from that area, he’s dangerous. So just kind of tried to put it in his wheelhouse there, and he did his thing.”

Maybe a couple of games ago, Batherson would have shot and missed instead of making the creative play. But that Batherson had been missing since December 11^th. What changed to make Batherson so effective on Wednesday?

When Batherson is at his best and engaged, it’s when he is hitting. Just ask him. 

“I just think I’m more into the game when I’m playing physical,” Batherson said. 

On Wednesday, he was a force with two hits as all night he threw defenders off his six-foot-four frame. He is only five hits away from how many he had last season and is on pace to blow by his career high in hits. It’s an effective new wrinkle. But Batherson was hitting at a higher rate in the first 28 games than the last 33. 

Look at the Senators’ offensive stats pre and post-December 11th.

CF% and xGF% at five-on-five according to Natural StatTrick.

It would be journalistic malpractice to pin all of the scoring woes on Batherson. It’s not just him, but sometimes correlations are a part of causation. 

Batherson acknowledges that the Senators’ 20th-ranked offence needs to start clicking to win games, which happened on Wednesday. But the Senators have been finding the back of the net lately, scoring four goals in each of its last three games since the return of Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris and Shane Pinto to the lineup. 

“I think we have the second (now third) least amount of goals scored in the Eastern Conference,” said Batherson. “It’s tough to win games when you’re not scoring goals.”

To give Batherson some reprieve, he has not had consistent linemates due to injuries and Green’s line juggling. 

“Haven’t really played with some linemates for a week or two, so that’s always tough,” Batherson said.

Finally, Batherson has some consistency playing with Norris and Perron on a line that has been successful in the last three games. 

 “The more you can play with two guys and figure out where they’re on the ice, the more you’re going to (succeed). It might take a week or two, but after that, I think it’s going to click. I remember my second year in Belleville, me and Norris and Vitali Abramov, we played the whole year and had an amazing year. And no matter if we had a bad week or a good week, we stayed on the same line. And I really believe that’s good to do that.”

The line of Perron-Norris-Batherson was outstanding against Chicago, scoring twice and dominating in shot attempts 11 to two at five-on-five. 

“They were great,” said Green about the line. “That line was probably the best we’ve seen them play in a while. Needed them tonight, because I didn’t think we quite had everyone on top of their game.” 

Perron has been the perfect fit alongside Norris and Batherson. The line has had a 53.9 per cent shot share since its conception. 

“He’s just a dog and a bone out there, really,” said Batherson about Perron. “I mean, anytime you’re in a battle with a guy, you don’t even got to look where he is. He’s coming right in there.”

Keep it rolling

Despite some recent trade rumours about Norris and Batherson, I personally still believe each should be part of the solution for opposite reasons. Norris is currently slightly overpaid at almost eight million a season but has shown that he is a 20-goal scorer, a mark he hit on Wednesday; Batherson is still on a bargain contract at less than five million a season for a player who produces at a 60-point rate a season. 

Nevertheless, Ottawa will have to eventually add another top-six forward to help insulate Norris and Batherson as they haven’t consistently shown that they can carry a line alone: Both have been at or below 50 per cent in shot share and expected goals share for their careers. It also helps when Tim Stutzle elevates his game to new heights. After Norris and Batherson got Ottawa to overtime, Stutzle called game. Stutzle extended his point streak to 13 games with a magnificent drive to the net that eventually redirected off his own skate into the net for the overtime winner.

However, Tim Stutzle wasn’t happy. He said post-game to Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas, “I still don’t think we played our best tonight. I played terrible.”

That’s why Batherson, who put Stutzle in the position to win the game, is so key. 

Ottawa doesn’t need to hit a home run at the deadline to make the playoffs, they need Batherson to start hitting the back of the net. 

Adams Apples’

Elliotte Friedman said on the broadcast that it’s “quiet” around the Senators ahead of Friday’s trade deadline. He says it’s not for a lack of trying on Ottawa’s front. 

Also, potential trade target Ryan Donato was superb with a goal and creating tons of chances against the Seantors, who he has been linked to in trade discussions. If Donato was auditioning for Staios on Wednesday, he nailed it and should get the part.   

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