Ottawa Senators are making small steps under Jacques Martin

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Maybe it’s all starting to finally come together for the Ottawa Senators.

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The Senators officially passed the midpoint of the season Sunday with a 5-3 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center in Game 42.

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This was a small step in the right direction for the club as it wraps up this two-game trip Tuesday night in Montreal.

Yes, this was supposed to be the season the Senators battled for a playoff spot in the spring, but after a difficult start and the coaching change a month ago, the best-case scenario for the organization is to finish the season strong to prepare for next year.

The Senators have won three of their past four, including a 6-2 win over the Habs on Thursday at home, and then club went toe-to-toe with top-ranked Winnipeg Jets in 2-1 overtime loss Saturday.

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“That was a game we played very well,” interim coach Jacques Martin told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson on Sunday in Philly. “Even after getting behind we stuck with the game plan, we stuck with our structure and I think we had great commitment from our 20 guys.

“We got contributions from everybody. We did the right things, we didn’t give up one odd-man rush and we played the right way. It shows if you don’t cheat you have a chance of getting success.”

That’s what Martin has been trying to sell to these players since Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, made the decision to fire coach D.J. Smith and assistant Davis Payne on Dec. 18.

The 71-year-old Martin has won 619 games in 1,310 career games behind an NHL bench. He has coached 708 of those games with the Senators and he’s trying to get this group to play with structure defensively.

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MESSAGE GETTING THROUGH

No, Martin isn’t asking players like Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson and Vladimir Tarasenko to give up their creativity offensively, he just wants them to be responsible at both ends.

That approach may be starting to rub off on the players.

Stutzle had a two-goal effort against the Flyers, including an empty-netter in the third to help secure the win. He has three goals and six assists for nine points in the club’s past five games. He has the chance to benefit from Martin’s approach and become a strong two-way player.

“He’s been going in the right direction,” Martin said when asked about Stutzle after Thursday’s win against Montreal. “He’s got great skill, he’s an elite player and sometimes he struggles because he puts a lot of pressure on himself. It’s not always measured by your production.

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“A lot of times a player has a tendency to look at production and sometimes that can weigh on you. That’s a conversation where we’re trying to make him have a good 200-foot game. He’s got great speed and the points will come.”

Martin pointed to the example of Hockey Hall of Fame forward Steve Yzerman, who was told by former Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman to either play at both ends of the ice or he’d trade him to Ottawa in 1996.

Yzerman went on to become one of the best two-way forwards in the game and a three-time Stanley Cup champion as a player.

“He came into the NHL he was scoring 130 points when Scotty Bowman got there, but they weren’t winning Cups. (Yzerman) became a better 200-foot player. That’s a good example for a player,” Martin said.

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BRINGING DEPTH

Centre Shane Pinto‘s 41-game suspension is over and that has brought depth up front for the Senators. He played a third-line role with winger Mathieu Joseph and Tarasenko against the Flyers. That trio was strong.

Having Pinto and Norris back from injury, gives the club better balance throughout its four lines. Martin has options about who he can put on the ice and that’s key to having success.

What Pinto’s return does is give the club balance throughout its forward units and that’s something that hasn’t happened in a year. Centre Ridly Greig was having good success in the middle, but he moved to play the wing in Philly and got the job done there.

Greig had a highlight-reel hit on Rasmus Ristolainen in the third.

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“It’s great to see the depth,” Stutzle said.

THE LAST WORDS

It will be interesting to see who makes the start against the Habs. Belleville callup Mads Sogaard is come off a 22-save effort in Philly, but Joonas Korpisalo made 21 stops in the club’s 6-2 win over Montreal last week. It would be no surprise to see Korpisalo return. Montreal coach Martin St. Louis told reporters Monday that Jake Allen will make the start against Ottawa. He has a 6-4-2 lifetime record against the Senators with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .914 save-percentage … This will be Ottawa owner Michael Andlauer’s first game in Montreal since selling his share in the Habs and purchasing the Senators last summer. Andlauer gave up his season tickets when he completed the sale of his minority share in the Habs, but he’ll be back in those seats Tuesday accompanied by special guest Geoff Molson. Partners in the Habs ownership group for 20 years, Molson will sit with Andlauer for the first. That will be a nice moment for both of them.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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