The Ottawa Senators have reassigned penalty-killing responsibilities from assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner to Mike Yeo amid ongoing struggles with their special teams unit. This change comes after repeated breakdowns that have cost the team leads and contributed to a four-game skid in their last five outings. Head coach Travis Green described the penalty kill as a persistent issue since October.
The Ottawa Senators' penalty kill has become a critical weakness this season, ranking second-worst in the NHL and allowing nearly every shorthanded situation to result in scoring opportunities against. The team recently lost a 3-0 lead to the Nashville Predators late in the second period due to penalties, with aggressive clearing attempts by Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto leading to goals. Further errors followed, including Tyler Kleven's missed coverage in transition, allowing Jonathan Marchessault to score, and Artem Zub leaving Steven Stamkos open for a tie in the third period.
Over the past week, Ottawa has squandered three multi-goal leads, conceding six shorthanded goals plus additional tallies immediately after kills. Despite strong underlying analytics—such as a top-league expected goals share shorthanded and just 0.42 expected goals against in Nashville—the actual results show defensive lapses, like leaving attackers unchecked in the slot or on back-door plays against teams including Montreal and Detroit.
Goaltending is no longer the scapegoat; the Senators' .791 save percentage on the penalty kill is the worst since tracking began in 1999-00, but James Reimer has posted a .911 save percentage at even strength and .833 shorthanded, the best on the team. The unit employs a diamond formation, occasionally hybrid box, but has oscillated from passivity to over-aggression, leading to missed assignments and poor puck clears.
Yeo's promotion aims to instill structure and accountability without overhauling the system, drawing on his experience with defensive setups. Home penalty kill stands at 79.5 percent, far better than 65.1 percent on the road; matching home efficiency away would place them around league average. With a 75 percent chance of missing the playoffs per MoneyPuck and the trade deadline approaching, Green noted the issue is fixable but time is short: "The problem should be fixable, but it hasn’t been that simple."
This adjustment signals urgency as the Senators host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, seeking to end a skid that includes a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
