Jacques Martin wants the Senators to finish this year the right way

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The Ottawa Senators will wrap up their trip to the Sunshine State on Thursday night.

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Give or take a trip or two to overtime in the final four games, only 240 minutes remain in what’s been one of the most disappointing seasons in the recent history of the franchise as the Senators prepare to face the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Amalie Arena.

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Coming off a 2-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night across the state in Sunrise, interim coach Jacques Martin is determined to make sure this group closes out this season on a strong note.

That’s why the Senators were back on the ice for a short skate Wednesday and what may have been their final practice of the year. Nobody would have blamed Martin if he opted to cancel the skate and just have players suit up for games the rest of the way, but he’s going to keep pushing.

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He wasn’t completely pleased with what he saw in Florida.

“I thought we had a pretty good game (Tuesday). The difference is we made two mistakes and they capitalized,” Martin told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson. “It was a game where there wasn’t any time or space.

“They checked very well. Once they took the 2-0 lead, they didn’t open it up, they defended. It may not be the prettiest game, but it’s effective and they’ve been successful that way. You learn from it.”

If it sounded to you like Martin was trying to send a message to his struggling club, it sure seemed that way to me.

“At this time of year, it’s a grinding game, there’s not much, there’s not much space, so you have to simplify your game and you’ve got to manage the puck properly,” he added. “You’ve got to get traffic in front of the net and win your battles.”

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Martin wants to see the players show some sense of urgency.

“The one area I felt we could have done better (in Florida) is when we got the puck back to our defencemen, we’re not shooting the puck right away,” Martin said. “We’re massaging the puck. By the time you massage the puck, the player is in the shot line.

“If you’re thinking ahead of time, before you get the pass, you should know you get the puck, you release it and you deliver it for a play to be made by the forwards in front of the net.”

INCHING CLOSER

The Senators may have centre Tim Stutzle back against the Bolts.

He was skating in a non-contact jersey Wednesday, but hasn’t been ruled out for this one. He’s missed two straight with an undisclosed upper-body injury after taking a hit from Florida’s Niko Mikkola last Thursday in Ottawa.

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Stutzle, who appeared to suffer a shoulder injury after the hit along the boards, skated on a line with Ridly Greig and Mathieu Joseph during the club’s short practice.

“We’ll probably make a decision (Thursday),” Martin said. “He’s skating, but we’ll have to evaluate where he’s at tomorrow.”

THIS ‘N’ THAT

Former Bolts winger Mathieu Joseph always looks forward to facing his old teammates. He has three goals in three games against the Lighting this season and this is the sixth time he’s faced Tampa since he was dealt to Ottawa. “There’s familiar faces and you’re used to playing here as well,” Joseph said. “It’s always special to come here and play. Hopefully, I get those legs again (Thursday) and I can help the team win.” The Senators have a 2-1-0 record against the Bolts this season … Tampa winger Nikita Kucherov is having a dynamite season and is one of the top candidates for the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. He has 43 goals and 139 points in 77 games this year. “I saw it first hand in my first year and I think he had 128 points,” said Joseph. “He’s a special player. He’s an elite playmaker and power-play guy. He makes everyone around him better and he’s learned how to win over the years. I feel like he’s a guy who always wants to compete. When he finds the open guy, he’s always dangerous.” … The Senators will have an optional skate Thursday, but expect to see Joonas Korpisalo make the start in this one. He had a solid effort with 27 saves in Florida.

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THE FINAL BUZZER

The NHL Players’ Association released its annual player poll Wednesday and there’s always some interesting results.

The players were asked, “If you need to win one faceoff, who would you pick?”

Ottawa forward Claude Giroux finished third with 7.61 per cent of the vote behind Nashville’s Ryan O’Reilly (14.49) and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (13.59).

Giroux is one of the most respected players in the league in the dot.

He’s ranked No. 6 in the NHL this season with a 58.3 per cent success rate in the faceoff circle. Giroux, 36, has won 688 of 1,088 he’s taken this season and that’s why several Ottawa players have spent a lot of time working with him after practice this season.

Giroux was given the option to take the day off from Wednesday’s skate, but insisted he’d go on the ice. He didn’t take part in any of the club’s line rushes.

BGarrioch@postmedia.com

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