Ottawa Senators Training Camp Check-In: October 2nd

With the calendar turned to October yesterday, training camp is almost a thing of the past! The regular season begins in just 11 days. Here are the most recent things of note in the Ottawa Senators training camp:

• Despite being down 4-2 to the Montreal Canadiens with less than 10 minutes left in the game, the Senators scored three unanswered goals to win 5-4 in overtime.
• Alex DeBrincat was the hero last night as he scored twice, including the game-winner on the powerplay. I think we’re going to be seeing a lot of this this season:/

Alex DeBrincat puts away the game-winner‼️#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/aXhf6Kr9Kd

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 2, 2022

• Although DeBrincat will be getting the headlines, there were several other key contributors, mainly offensively. Claude Giroux had three assists, Tyler Motte had yet another assist on a Mathieu Joseph redirect, and Shane Pinto continued his hot streak with two goals and an assist. Pinto’s shot is looking quite lethal, and that could be a huge luxury to have on the third line.
• It’s hard not to love what the third line of Motte, Pinto, and Joseph have done for the team, as they don’t even have to be nearly this good for them to be valuable enough.
• The Senators went 3/5 on the powerplay, which is fantastic to see, even if it’s just preseason. They’re now 5th in NHL preseason for powerplay goals per 60 (13.21) in this very small sample of four games. Some of the movement is looking quite good even without all of their regular players.
• Erik Brännström is such a fascinating player. He looked like a man possessed tonight and made some phenomenal plays with the puck, showcasing his ceiling. I just hope he can translate that to sustained success this season and it’s not more of a flash in the pan.
• Ridly Greig played just 10:11 tonight, although he was clearly playing hurt after blocking three difficult shots. He’s a fearless player and if he doesn’t make the team right away, he should be playing most of the season in Ottawa. It might be best if he actually worries less about blocking shots though since he seems bound to be getting injured from that.
• Derick Brassard had a chance to play with DeBrincat and Giroux tonight, which was a big opportunity for him. He got a nice assist on Pinto’s game-tying goal, which was on the powerplay. I wouldn’t expect much from him at the NHL level anymore, although I can envision the Senators giving him a one-year contract if they want to give Greig more time in the AHL.
• The shots were 34-16 tonight for Ottawa, which was a good showing despite missing top players like Tim Stützle, Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot, and Artem Zub.
• It seems that Ottawa shouldn’t have any troubles scoring goals, and that shouldn’t be a surprise. What may still be an issue is their defensive play, as they have yet to look stellar in that regard so far. It’s too early for any full proclamations though, especially in preseason.
• The Senators have three preseason games remaining, all against the Canadiens. The next one comes on Tuesday at 7pm EST in Montreal./