Tim Stutzle shines, but Senators coach Jacques Martin looks for more

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Jacques Martin is careful with his words when asked about budding star Tim Stutzle.

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The Ottawa Senators coach doesn’t gush when he praises the kid.

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There are always compliments, a recognition of Stutzle’s abilities with a puck on his hockey stick, but there are also pauses before the coach points to things he believes the centre needs to better at.

It’s an old-school approach in a time where players are coddled early and often. They’re not pushed, they’re not prodded.

Sometimes the players settle for good, when the potential is to be great. That’s where Martin wants to lead Stutzle, that’s why the praise is muted.

The coach wants the 22-year-old to become a more complete player with a defensive conscience to go along with the razzle-dazzle part of his game. He wants Stutzle to be a team-first player. And he wants Stutzle to remain even-keeled in the toughest of moments, calmly wade through whatever adversity is thrown in his direction.

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Sometimes too easily, when Stutzle is knocked to the ice, it throws off his game. He’s more focused on belly-aching to the ref than he is about quickly re-focusing.

Move on. Just get up and play.

There is no doubting what the kid can be. He has a skillset few possess. He has a good hockey mind, he can shoot, he can pass, he can control the tempo of a game.

But there is so much more in his toolbox to unlock, things that can take him to another level.

Highlight goals are coming in bunches for Stutzle, the third-overall selection in the 2020 NHL draft.

The latest: A game-tying goal in Ottawa’s 3-2 overtime loss Tuesday in southern Florida against the Panthers.

Stutzle somehow burst through the clutches of three Florida defenders to put the puck past goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as the Senators fought back from a 2-0 deficit against what could be the NHL’s best team.

Asked about Stutzle’s wizardry, Martin told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson: “He’s producing lately. He’s got to keep progressing. He’s a young player that has a lot of talent. It’s a matter of managing the game, managing the ups and downs of the game, stay the course and keep his focus.”

Right.

Stutzle now has a goal in each of his past three games (with five points). He’s up to 51 points (with 13 goals) in 52 games and will have to find another gear to exceed last year’s 90 points (with 39 goals) in 78 games.

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Asked about Stutzle’s highlight-reel goal Tuesday, teammate Drake Batherson said: “It was an unbelievable goal. They didn’t show the replay on the Jumbotron so it must have been pretty unreal. I need to have a second peek at it.

“It shows what that kid can do — two unbelievable SportsCentre goals the last two games. He’s a helluva player.”

FACING THE BIG BOYS

After a day off Wednesday, the Senators play Thursday at home vs. the Dallas Stars, the second-best team in the Western Conference (behind Vancouver).

Then, Saturday, it’s another home game, vs. the defending Stanley Cup champs, the Vegas Golden Knights — ranked fifth in the West.

“There are some big dogs coming in, we have to be ready to play like we have been,” Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said. “We need a 60-minute effort and hopefully we get the results. We believe in our game, we believe in what we’re doing.”

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“The last two teams we played are really good teams,” Batherson said. “The games coming up, we’re playing really good teams again. It’ll be nice to get a day off and get ready for the next one.”

As for Thursday’s game, the Stars come in with a 6-2-2 record in their past 10 games; the Senators are 5-3-2. Dallas is also a strong 17-7-5 in road games.

FIXING THE FIXABLES

Martin talked about his team finding its way after a rough start to the game against Florida — the Panthers scored just 19 seconds into the game.

“As the game went along, we got better as far as playing away from the puck and playing stingy,” he said. “We’re recognizing areas of the ice that need to be protected.”

The Senators did a very good job of limiting Florida’s chances for a 13-minute stretch, which included the final seven minutes of the first period, then the first six of the second.

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“We’ve been playing some good hockey,” said defenceman Thomas Chabot, who got Ottawa on the scoreboard early in the third period Tuesday. “We had a rough game at home against Anaheim (a 5-1 loss last week), Chicago (a 3-2 loss) could have gone either way. We were down two goals (against Florida). We know we can score two goals in a period.”

ICE CHIPS

Chabot pointed to Bobrovsky, who turned aside 28 of 30 shots, as being a difference-maker: “Bobrovsky played a helluva game, you have to give him some credit.” … Brady Tkachuk’s brother Matthew, who assisted on the game-winning overtime goal Tuesday, is leading the NHL in scoring since Jan. 1, producing at a clip of nearly two points per game (1.90 ppg with 15 goals and 23 assists in 20 games) after starting at a 0.75 goals-per-game clip (five goals, 22 assists) through Dec. 31.

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