5 Keys to a Horrible November for the Senators – Hockey Writer – Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators have been through a lot of adversity and struggled over the past few seasons. For some reason, one fight happened to happen in November. The Senators have won just 15 of their past 48 games in November. November 2025 will be different, and it won’t be an easy year.

November Senate fight fades

This season will be the Senators’ chance to put that story to rest. Recent November statistics have been heavily impacted by a 1-10-1 record in 2021-22, but they have been mediocre in each of their past three games.

Until we have a really good November, people will continue to keep statistics. The Senators haven’t started the season the way they wanted to, but the goaltending has been slowly improving and there’s a lot to like about the way the team is playing.

The first key must be for the forwards to continue playing like they have been before. Derek Basson is on a hot streak with 15 points in 10 games. Tim Stutzle, Dylan Cozens and Shane Pinto also performed well. Even with Brady Tkachuk out, the Senators’ top players played well and did their jobs. There are definitely some adjustments that can be made, but heading into this month, forwards are no longer an issue.

The second, just like the forwards, is the defense doing more of the same. The defense has generated a ton of offense, but not necessarily at the expense of the defensive side of the game. The team’s defense has been much better through the first 13 games of the season than it has been in years past, with an expected goals-against-per-60 (xGA/60) of 2.18 (via JFresh ), which ranks fourth in the league.

Goaltending has been a major issue for the Senators, with Linus Ullmark ranking last among 70 goaltenders in terms of goals saved above expected (GSAx) according to MoneyPuck’s model. The third key to their success all month will depend on whether he can turn the game around.

Ullmark is playing better and better, but still doesn’t live up to the $8.25 million salary the team has set for him, or the standard he’s set for himself. Ullmark is an extremely talented goaltender who is well aware that his numbers need to improve, but there is no need to panic.

The fourth key to success is health. While this is usually not within anyone’s control, wishing for a little luck isn’t the worst thing in the world. So far, the Senators have started the season without Derek Basson and lost Brady Tkachuk, who will be out six to eight weeks. That’s a lot of quality, but a month into the season the Senators have only lost 13 games, and if they can stick to those numbers, November has a chance to go smoothly.

Senators have tough November schedule

The fifth-place finisher will have to endure a tough schedule that includes a tough road trip out west. There are 13 games this month, with 12 remaining, some of which are winnable games and some of which are more challenging.

The Senators faced the Montreal Canadiens on the first day of the month and lost 4-3 in overtime. They had plenty of rest in the month after that, with four days off before two away games.

The Senators finished above the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers in the standings last season and are ahead of them again so far this season. Both games are likely to be physical fights and far from easy, but two wins are possible. Something to note about the Flyers game: This is an earlier game, and the Senators have struggled in matinee games in recent memory.

After the Flyers game, the Senators begin the second half of a back-to-back with four games against the Utah Mammoths before moving on to play the Dallas Stars, Bruins, and then the Los Angeles Kings. The home team should aim to take six out of eight points, which is entirely doable.

They then headed to the West Coast, where they once again found themselves in trouble. The Senators are doing pretty well overall in the Western Conference, but they haven’t been at their best during road games in California and Vegas.

They finish the month with road games against the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars before heading to Montreal to begin December. Both games will be an expected challenge. The Stars are one of the top teams in the league, and while the standings don’t reflect that, the Blues are a very talented team that performs well at home.

In the remaining 12 games in November, the Senators can probably score 16 points and be content. If they want to escape the November disaster narrative, they need to do more.