Ottawa Senators Training Camp Check-In and Preseason Game 1 Recap: Sept. 27th

The Ottawa Senators faced off against the Winnipeg Jets in the first non-rookie game action this team has seen since last spring. While most of the skaters on the ice aren’t locked in to the opening night lineup, there were still plenty of players to watch and storylines to follow.

Game Recap: Ottawa Senators , Winnipeg Jets

Young guns Alex Formenton, Shane Pinto, Egor Sokolov and Ridly Greig lined up with NHL veterans Austin Watson, Tyler Ennis and Anton Forsberg as the Ottawa Senators faced off against the Winnipeg Jets in preseason action last night. Here’s how the squad lined up during warm-ups:

The Sens kicked off the game with multiple powerplay opportunities, to no avail. We saw Pinto, Sokolov, Formenton, Ennis and Brännstrom as a unit, seeing some young, skilled players get an opportunity to show what they can contribute on special teams. In the first period, one of the Sens best chances came from Ennis and Pinto, where the former found the latter in front of the net.

Tyler Ennis gets this one to Shane Pinto from down low, who then takes it to the net.

Comrie says no. #Sens #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/QyE2cANRrx

— Pesky Sickos (@PeskySickos) September 27, 2021

Just over halfway through the first period, Greig did this:

Riddle me this 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eWvHK1SR89

— Locked On Senators (@SensCentral) September 27, 2021

He seems pretty good.

Between the end of the first and beginning of the second, the Jets took the lead with goals from Pierre-Luc Dubois and CJ Suess.

Speaking of Ridly Greig, in the second period his night got cut short as he clearly caught Dubois up high with a cross check. Greig received a five minute major and a game misconduct.

Greig’s night is done after this cross-check. Other teams aren’t going to like him. pic.twitter.com/MlC8FMO7DW

— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) September 27, 2021

After an overall flat second period which saw the Jets outshoot the Sens 12-1, Ottawa managed to even things up on a beautiful wrister from Formenton.

Alex Formenton with a SNIPE. 🎯

2-2! pic.twitter.com/EPaUzcWT9G

— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) September 27, 2021

For a player like Formenton, this is what you want to see. He isn’t going to compete with Tim Stützle or Brady Tkachuk in points but his goal for camp should be to prove he can score when he gets an opportunity.

With strong play from Filip Gustavsson, posting a perfect half game with 14 saves on 14 shots, the Sens forced overtime where Shane “Point-o” Pinto made quick work of the 3-on-3.

Shane Pinto wins it in overtime! What a shot. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/HxhMqOA6aG

— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) September 27, 2021

The young Sens were on display tonight, with Greig, Formenton and Pinto scoring goals for the visitors. Of the forwards, Pinto and Formenton led the charge in ice-time but a pleasantly surprising bronze medalist was Parker Kelly, who played a total of 16:42 with just under a minute of penalty kill duty. On the back end, Josh Brown and Victor Mete acted as the Sens top pairing, while Brännström’s 3:35 on the powerplay led all defenders by a wide margin.

A wildly different group of Senators will clash with the Maple Leafs on Wednesday evening, with cuts expected likely throughout the week.

Other Notes from Camp:

• Ahead of the game, Austin Watson spoke of the importance of having preseason action and what it means to this young club heading into a new season./

Austin Watson speaks on the importance of preseason as the #Sens get set to battle Winnipeg tonight ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/KHr8nUzWsl

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 26, 2021