Down, but certainly not out. A team that can’t keep the puck out of their net and an unfortunate injury to the captain, Brady Tkachuk. But perhaps we didn’t see it coming, because it was right in front of our face. Then, enter into the fray, the Ottawa Senators winger Drake Batherson. Batherson had missed the first couple games following a pre-season injury, but since he has been back, he and Sens have been ready to go.
Drake Batherson the Senators Silky-Smooth Second Liner’s Point Projection
Drake Batherson Providing the Sens the Offence they Desire
As a team, the underlying numbers had been there for the Sens. That is despite the fact they were making too many mistakes, letting in too many goals, and not winning enough games.
As it stands today, ahead of their matchup with Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, at 5v5 as a team, the Sens are seventh in the NHL with an expected goal percentage of 54.73%. However, as Wayne Gretzky might say, analytics don’t pay the bills, but wins and losses sure do. Coming into tonight’s action, they are currently tied with 3.70 goals-for and goals-against per game. The goals-for has them ranked fifth, which is quite impressive. However, that number has them 28th defensively. But it is improving.
The Ottawa Senators scored seven last night against the Boston Bruins, their NHL Atlantic Division rivals. Furthermore, that was just like they did the previous game. It is only the second time in franchise history they accomplished that feat of scoring seven-or-more in back-to-back games. You have to go back all the way to 1993-94 to find the last time they did it. Now, maybe the win against the Bruins was a bit more expected. You know, in terms of pre-season divisional standings predictions. But the Washington Capitals are a strong team. They just aren’t a bunch of guys feeding Alex Ovechkin the puck. In fact, the Caps still find themselves first in the league with 2.33 goals-against per game.
The point is, what those two games did, was seemingly turn things around for Ottawa. This resurgence had been brewing, and it is led (at least partially) by Batherson.
Batherson’s Return to the Sens Lineup
In Game 3 of the 2025-26 campaign for the Sens, Brady got injured. Then, in Game 4, Batherson made his return to the lineup, to make his season debut. It was against the Buffalo Sabres. However, it was not a good game in his return. He went dash-three, in 17:27 of ice time, but did have three shots on goal. That is one positive.
In the next three games, he had points in each one, was playing over 17 minutes a night, and starting to find his legs. His five recorded hits are a testament to that fact.
But now, over the past two games, he has exploded essentially. In both the Capital and Bruin games, he had a pair of goals and a single assist. He’s now up to ten points on the season. What’s more impressive, he was under 12 minutes played in the game against Washington.
For the most part, Batherson has been on a line with Dylan Cozens. The chemistry has been there since the arrival of Cozens in Ottawa. They’ve played a bunch with either of David Perron or Tim Stutzle. In either case, a very skilled flank. Batherson provides excellent playmaking, combing with an accurate shot. Playing with someone like Cozens, has seemed to motivate him to get in the dirty areas. Whether that be net front or in the corners, the duo of Batherson and Cozens are dogs on the puck.
Despite the time that Batherson has missed, his 3.0 expected goals has him fourth among Ottawa’s forwards. It might also be a positive sign that Batherson and a couple other of the Sens forwards have great shooting percentages. Batherson leads the team at 26.7%. Moreover, he only just got ahead of Shane Pinto, who had been well over 30%. Pinto is still hot with eight goals through ten games so far. With Batherson being spread out from Pinto’s line, it is really given the Sens a more complete attack.
The key thing for Ottawa early on, is if they are generating offence, then they aren’t allowing anything. Perhaps that has been Batherson’s biggest contribution early on in 2025-26. Now, we must emphasize it is still early, but Batherson expects to be over 60 points on the year. The way he is going, there will be little to prevent that from happening. Given the confidence his linemates are playing with in the last couple games, it will help their all around games.
Main Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers – USA TODAY Sports
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