The Ottawa Senators need their goalies to step up down the stretch

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The numbers just don’t add up for the Ottawa Senators.

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And, they haven’t all season.

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If there has been one consistency for the Senators this season, it has been the total lack of consistency from their goaltenders through 67 games.

As the Senators prepare to face the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at TD Garden, interim coach Jacques Martin’s only option is to go back to Joonas Korpisalo after what everybody witnessed from Anton Forsberg in the club’s 7-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday at home.

Forsberg allowed three goals on five shots in a span of four minutes and 11 seconds in the third period against the Canes. As the final buzzer sounded, he skated straight to the bench and headed down the tunnel with the rest of his teammates.

He shouldn’t have to shoulder all the blame because the Senators need to play better defensively, but this kind of goaltending isn’t going to get this team anywhere, and sadly this has been the since October.

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Signed to a five-year, $20 million deal on July 1, Korpisalo hasn’t been a whole lot better. He heads into Boston with a 15-20-4 record, a 3.30 goals-against average and an .890 save-percentage. Forsberg is 12-11-0 with a 3.39 GAA and an .897 save percentage.

The Senators are ranked No. 32 in the National Hockey League with a combined save percentage of .887 from the club’s goaltenders and at No. 28 with an average of 3.53 goals-against per game.

That has to change next season, or nothing will.

Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, did a lot of talking at the March 8 NHL trade deadline and we’re led to believe he at least kicked some times on goaltenders.

Staios is attending his first general managers’ meetings with his other 31 counterparts this week in Palm Beach, Fla., and if he laid the groundwork for trades before the deadline, maybe some of those will pick up this week. Trades can’t be made now, but GMs certainly can discuss some options.

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There was speculation the club had talks with the Bruins regarding Linus Ullmark, but if took place it’s nothing that could be considered remotely serious

Boston will likely have to make a decision on Ullmark in the off-season and that might be an option Ottawa considers, but the club has Korpisalo under contract for four more years.

If you think the Senators are just going to buy out Korpisalo and spread the $10 million cap hit that goes with that decision for the next eight years you’re probably dreaming in technicolour. The hope is that he can come back next season better prepared to play with more consistency.

The club may have an option to trade the 31-year-old Forsberg this summer. He has one season left at $2.75 million and, perhaps, the club can find a more reliable backup that can push Korpisalo for playing time.

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As soon as the Senators are officially eliminated from the NHL playoffs, we’re going to start hearing about which players are headed to the 2024 IIHF world men’s championship, being held in May in the Czech Republic.

The best-case scenario for Korpisalo is that he gets invited to play for Finland, helps his team medal, and heads into the summer with some confidence.

If Forsberg was afforded the same opportunity with Sweden, that might assist his value on the trade market or if he’s back next season.

All we know right now is that both goalies should — and have to be — better for the Senators to succeed. If that took place during these final 15 games, that would be a nice start.

THIS ‘N’ THAT

Defenceman Thomas Chabot returned to play Sunday after missing five games because of an undisclosed lower body injury. He picked up a goal and an assist against the Canes and didn’t have a practice before returning. He said he skated with development coach Jesse Winchester for three days while the Senators were out of town, and felt good enough to play. “I was lucky enough with Jesse to skate a lot and get through a lot of different skates to get me ready for this game,” Chabot said … The Senators have had 15 sellouts this season and that ties the number they had all of last season. Judging by the rest of the schedule, the Senators are trending towards having 18 or 19 sellouts at the Canadian Tire Centre before the final buzzer sounds on the year. The next one will be during Connor McDavid‘s visit with the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night, and Connor Bedard‘s only stop in Ottawa on March 28 with the Chicago Blackhawks is headed that way as well.

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THE FINAL BUZZER

Centre Tim Stutzle is having a strong March. As the club prepares to face Boston, he has three goals, seven assists and 10 points in the first nine games this month. Stutzle, the Senators leading scorer, has 17 goals and 64 points in 66 games this season. He has four goals and nine points in nine career games against the Bruins. He’s a player to watch … Asked why the Hurricanes are successful, Chabot gave a good assessment. “I think it’s just the way they support each other everywhere,” Chabot said. “There’s no time that, when a guy makes a mistake, that another one of their players isn’t there to back him up. They play a really solid game. You have to give them credit, there’s a reason they’re winning most nights.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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