Senators Drake Batherson Is Heating Up, but There’s

Ottawa Senators fans have plenty to enjoy about Drake Batherson's start to the 2026-27 season. He's scoring, setting up teammates, and finding ways to make a difference even when the game doesn't go Ottawa's way.

Batherson added a goal and two assists Thursday night in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings. That gives him 11 points during a six-game point streak, including five goals and six assists. Through 14 games, he has eight goals and eight assists. Those are impressive numbers. But there's another part of Batherson's game worth watching.

Batherson brings dependability to the Senators’ offence.

Batherson is shooting 25 percent, which is an extraordinary rate. Even last season, when he posted a career-best 19.8 percent shooting percentage, he wasn't converting at quite this rate. It's reasonable to expect that number to come down as the season progresses.

That's just hockey. Shooting percentages fluctuate, and even good shooters have stretches when the puck seems to find the net more often than usual. But Ottawa shouldn't confuse a likely scoring slowdown with a decline in Batherson's value.

He's becoming the kind of offensive contributor a team needs over an 82-game schedule. He can score himself, create opportunities for others, contribute on the power play, and provide some physical presence. His 28 hits in 14 games remind us his contribution isn't limited to the scoresheet.

There's something reassuring about having a player who can help in different ways. Coaches don't have to build an entire offensive plan around him, but they can count on him to be involved.

What happens when Batherson’s goals slow down?

This is where Batherson's season gets interesting. The Senators will eventually need contributions from players whose shooting percentages return to more ordinary levels. When that happens, Batherson's ability to create offence for teammates may matter as much as his goal scoring.

Ottawa is trying to establish itself as a team that can compete consistently, not simply one that produces exciting stretches of hockey. That requires players who can contribute when the easy scoring opportunities disappear. Batherson doesn't have to maintain a 25 percent shooting percentage to remain an important part of that effort.

For Senators fans, the encouraging thing may not be how many goals he's scoring right now. It's that he's finding ways to influence games regularly. If that continues after the puck stops bouncing quite so kindly, Ottawa will have something more sustainable than a hot streak.