GARRIOCH: A tip of the cap to Drake Batherson’s confidence after his three-goal effort

“Drake is someone who has incredible ability with the puck on his cane.”

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Drake Batherson wore a smile Monday night as he posed for a photo with three discs that he used to record his first hat trick of his NHL career.

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The only item that could have improved the night was collecting the two points.

The Ottawa Senators had Tuesday off after their 7-5 loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday at the Canadian Tire Center to rest and be ready for a three-game road trip that begins Friday night against the Dallas Stars at the American. Arena Airlines.

The 23-year-old Batherson will remember this for a long time because his father, Norm Batherson, a former senator of the senators, was in the building with friends and family.

“It was very special. I had my dad in the stands, a couple of my friends and some family members, so it was a special night, “said Batherson. “My dad said he lost his hat so I have to buy him a new one. It would have been nice to get the win, but it was really special to have him here. “

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His third of the game to move the club closer to a 6-5 goal in the third period came after the Senators erased a 4-1 deficit in the second. This game is all about confidence and perhaps his second of the night was the best example of where Batherson is right now.

With Washington goalkeeper Ilya Samsonov trying to cover every angle, Batherson waited for him to shoot the puck home and tie it 4-4 at 11:16 of the second. There is great chemistry between Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris and Batherson, who also had the first four-point night of his career.

“He has great ability,” said Batherson coach DJ Smith. “That line is like other top lines in the league, you give them good looks and they score. Drake is a really good player, he showed very good patience to score that goal. I had all kinds of looks all night and that line had a lot of looks. “

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With a six-year, $ 29.85 million contract before the start of the season, Batherson is one of the players this organization is building its team around. He is a strong player on both ends of the ice and has a great shot, which is something the coaching staff has been asking him to use more early in the season.

The coaching staff has been pressuring Batherson to use his shot more.

“Drake is someone who has incredible ability with the puck on his stick,” Pierre McGuire, the club’s senior vice president of player development, said Tuesday. “Because she has that skill and confidence, sometimes she tries to do too much with her; Instead of shooting the puck, try making creative plays.

“(Tuesday) was a testament that he is trainable and shows his athleticism. The coach has been nagging him about shooting the puck and he did (Monday). This should really help your confidence significantly. “

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Yes, you can blame the defensive mistakes the senators made against the Capitals on Monday, but the goal wasn’t good either. Anton Forsberg was chased after allowing four goals on 16 shots, then Filip Gustavsson allowed three on the 14 shots he faced.

With the exception of the first game against the Leafs, the Senators have been strong on their own side and have done a good job holding out opportunities on the outside.

It seemed like all the mistakes the senators made on Tuesday ended up in their net. That was never more apparent than late in the second when Alex Ovechkin scored on a breakaway to make it 5-4 and then TJ Oshie capped a hat trick by giving the Caps a lead after 40 minutes.

“When you go 4-4, you have to take control of the game and we made a couple of really bad plays,” Smith said. “They scored three or four goals in the head-to-head wins and we just didn’t execute. Some guys in the back didn’t run and ended up in the back of our net.

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“When you have guys like Ovechkin, Oshie and those guys, you can’t make mistakes if you want to beat that team because those guys can score. We did a lot of good things on offense, but you can’t go against them. “

The Senators closed this home run with a 1-3-0 record. After scoring a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars on October 17 at home, the club lost a 2-1 decision to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday and a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday. Saturday afternoon when they left a 2-0 lead he ran away.

“Going on tour is a good opportunity to be together,” Smith said. “You see more and more visiting teams winning games. The hard part, we didn’t get the clashes. We will see the combinations of lines, but if we check our possibilities, we can play with anyone ”.

There is a lot of hockey left and the senators have taken steps in the right direction. This road trip with stops in Dallas, Chicago on Monday and Minnesota on Tuesday will be a tough test, but there will be an opportunity for the players to spend time together.

“We have a great road trip, it will be good to meet the guys and go out to dinner, so we are looking forward to it,” Batherson said.

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Twitter: @sungarrioch

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