'I will find it': Senators' Burakovsky vows to improve play as team's offence stalls out

Andre Burakovsky knows he hasn’t exactly fit in with his new team quite yet.

“I think it’s been a little bit harder than I expected to adjust to the way we want to play,” the winger said after practice Monday. “As of now, I’m trying to focus so much on doing the right thing in our system that my instincts are maybe slipping a little bit.”

Burakovsky, acquired over the summer from the Chicago Blackhawks for a sixth-round pick, has zero points and two shots in five games to begin his Ottawa Senators career. He played just 9:14 against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, coach Travis Green sitting him for the final 11:40 of regulation as they pushed for the tying goal.

The 31-year-old has struggled with all facets of the game thus far — even the basics, like tape-to-tape passes on the breakout and getting the puck deep when the opposition steps up at the blue line. His 1.87 individual scoring chances per 60 minutes is the lowest among the forward corps.

If it was 15 or 20 games, Burakovsky says, it’d be much more concerning. An injury in training camp surely made it more difficult to get acclimated, but it’s obvious that his play must improve.

“I’m literally just trying to find a balance between the way we want to play and the way I can play,” he explained. “And as of now, I mean, I’m leaning more towards just doing the right things and show the coaching staff and my teammates that I can adjust to the system and play the system right, and then I’m finding the rest.

“I’m working on it. I’m watching videos. I’m working hard in practice to find it. And I will find it.”

Meanwhile, the most eye-opening slump on the team belongs to Burakovsky’s linemate, Dylan Cozens, who is goalless in his opening nine games. This, after the centre nearly potted 30 last year.

It’s not like Cozens isn’t generating opportunities — quite the opposite, actually. Of healthy forwards, he has the second-highest individual scoring chance rate. He’s had a startling number of near misses, like when Dan Vladar flashed the leather on his point-blank wrister on a partial break Saturday.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Cozens said when asked by the Ottawa Citizen what’s stopped him from finishing. “I think I have done a lot of good things. I think I’ve been playing hard, getting some chances, creating some chances. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to produce, and I haven’t been producing.”

At practice Monday, Green plucked Drake Batherson from the top trio, and had him take rushes with Burakovsky and Cozens. Batherson was the only Senator to score last game, his fourth goal of the season.

As a team overall, Ottawa’s offence has been slightly troubling. Last week, the Sens only scored seven non-empty-net goals in four games. Only the Flyers and Los Angeles Kings — each last place in their respective conferences — scored fewer such goals over their past four.

Of course, the Senators’ 27th-ranked power play is a major problem, converting on just 12.8 per cent of opportunities. More often than not, it’s a momentum killer, especially with how many penalties the team draws. The only squad with more average time on the man advantage than Ottawa (7:11) is the Florida Panthers (8:01).

Perhaps there are growing pains with a new assistant coach, Ben Sexton, running the operation. Perhaps they just need to get back to basics.

The Senators’ most important power-play goal this season was Carter Yakemchuk’s howitzer from the point to give them a late 2-1 lead in the home opener against the Flyers nearly two weeks ago. How often have you seen the rookie wind up to uncork a one-timer since then?

General manager Steve Staios isn’t one to overreact. He’ll give the group a considerable, reasonable amount of time to figure it all out. William Eklund’s ankle injury was a real wrench in their plans, and he could return before the new year.

Though, there is a hot stick in the minor leagues inching closer to his NHL debut.

Kasper Halttunen is off to a sizzling start with Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville. The winger, acquired in the Eklund deal over the summer, has eight points (five goals, three assists) in seven games, and is seventh in league goal scoring.

Not only does Halttunen possess an outrageous one-timer and slick release — he’s eager to use them. The 21-year-old leads the B-Sens with 31 shots. The next closest in that category is Xavier Bourgault with 16.

Directing the 29th-most shots per game in the NHL, the big-league Senators could at least draw inspiration from Halttunen’s mentality.

Back up in Ottawa, the panic button shouldn’t be anywhere close to within reach. The Sens are 6-3-0 and two points behind the Boston Bruins for the Atlantic Division lead.

However, Tim Stützle (12 points in nine games) and Linus Ullmark (6-1-0 with a .945 save percentage) can’t prop this team up forever.