Ottawa Senators Training Camp Check-in: October 6th

The preseason is over, and let me be the 11,065th person to say it: thank goodness. Two, maybe three games too long.

The Ottawa Senators took on the Montreal Canadiens in their final preseason game, winning 4-2, avoided further injuries, and finishing with a 5-1-1 preseason record. Shane Pinto scored a hat-trick and Linus Ullmark stopped 23 of 25 shots.

Look for head coach Travis Green to finalize the opening night roster shortly.

Notes:

• Ullmark once again looked comfortable in the crease, stopping every puck he needed to in order for Ottawa to win. Only once was he hung out to dry by one of his skaters (Drake Batherson), and he was fooled by a deflection, but the overall performance was what you'd expect from a Vezina winner.
• Zack MacEwen fought Arber Xhekaj early on, during which he ate a few punches, got taken down, and was awarded an instigator penalty. A small price to pay for sending Xhekaj to the box for five minutes, allowing the Sens' medical staff to use the restroom should they have felt the need.
• Mike Amadio will potentially be a key player for Ottawa this season – the success of their third line hinges on whether or not he can elevate his play with stronger linemates than he's had in the past. He worked very well with Pinto, as both had multi-point games. Will it be Ridly Greig or David Perron rounding things out? One thing's for sure – it won't be Dominik Kubalik, and that's cause for celebration.
• Amadio was also a frequent penalty killer yesterday, on a unit that went 5-for-5 on the night.
• Nick Jensen has looked pretty good in the preseason. I'm so happy.
• I'm also encouraged by the number of strong performances from Ottawa's depth forwards throughout the preseason. We'll see a finalized roster shortly, but a fourth line including Nick Cousins, Noah Gregor, Jan Jenik, and/or Adam Gaudette, with MacEwen as the 13th, should serve Ottawa well. That said, I think it'd be a mistake to waive Jenik, as he's demonstrated a nothing-to-lose attitude, and has some latent offensive ability on top of the same quality that Cousins has, that for whatever reason makes even the most disciplined among us want to put a dent in the nearest wall.
• Has Carter Yakemchuk done enough for a 9-game tryout with the big club? I'd say the fact that he was kept out of the lineup yesterday, combined with that he wasn't sent to the WHL as well, says his chances of playing at least one game are pretty good. Even a tougher regular-season environment, with the toughest possible opponent in the defending Cup champions, Yakemchuk deserves to be playing on opening night.
• Travis Hamonic didn't look awful. More than points, plus/minus, expected goals and any other stat, his success this season will be determined by games played. We should be able to digest the occasional outing so long as he's not overplayed.