Three Takeaways from Ottawa Senators-Vancouver Canucks as Sutter makes history

2. Ottawa Senators Need More

This was not a good night for the Ottawa Senators. Not only were they absolutely crushed and dominated, but they have now dropped five straight and they just looked lifeless against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, which was the most troubling aspect of this crushing loss.

And there is no doubt that the Senators will need more from certain players going forward if they are to put up a fight at all in 2020-21. That starts with Matt Murray, who was acquired in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins during the offseason, with the goalie holding a .862 Save Percentage in five games while he also has a 4.47 Goals Against Average.

However, as much as Murray needs to be better, he has also been left to hang out to dry by his defense with the likes of Thomas Chabot making some big mistakes against the Canucks, and the Senators rank 31st in the entire NHL in Goals Against Per Game (4.50) for a reason.

They also rank 25th in Goals For Per Game (2.50) and they need more from their forward unit, including Brady Tkachuk who has four points (2 G, 2 A) in six games while rookie forward Tim Stützle, playing in his first game back since recovering from an undisclosed injury, struggled and was a -4 in 12:37 of ice time.

Overall, while they were not expected to be a Playoff team this year, the Ottawa Senators aren’t even looking competitive right now and they will need a lot more from Matt Murray between the pipes and some of their other established players if they are to avoid a completely humiliating season and being the punching bag for every other team in the North Division.