Flyers 7, Senators 2: I'm getting too Auld for this s--t
The Ottawa Senators opened up the game with arguably their worst period yet. I know, it's hard to fathom that they could have a period worse than some of the others we've seen already in this short season, but this was awful.
The Senators had three shots in the first period. The Flyers had four goals.
Any way you slice it, that's bad. It was made worse because of the way the goals went in: awful goaltending from Alex Auld. Auld was simply cheating on his angles, slow to move, and just not looking like his usual reliable self out there. Needless to say, he was pulled in the first intermission.
The Senators started the second period with Craig Anderson in net, but it started more or less the same. The Senators managed to close the gap in shots and prevent the Flyers from scoring in the second, but they still never really looked dangerous out there. As the period wore on, the Senators had more and more chances until Jason Spezza scored off a Daniel Alfredsson feed right in front of the net at the end of the period.
The Senators were once again down by 3 heading into the third. Seems like a common trend this year.
Unfortunately, the third period didn't see the Senators put any more pucks in the net, and though they had a good effort for the first 15 minutes, they fell apart in the last five as the Flyers potted three goals. Erik Karlsson netted his first of the year with under one minute left, but it was only a small condolence after a rather painful game to watch.
Sens Hero: Erik Karlsson
Karlsson was involved in both Senators' goal, assisting on the first and scoring the second. He also led the team in shots with 4 and time-on-ice with 25:35.
Sens Zero: Alex Auld
Auld is normally a dependable backup, but he wasn't on his game tonight. He allowed four goals on ten shots, and three of the four were routine stops that he should have had. The Senators needed those saves to keep them in the game, and they didn't get them from Auld.
Sens Killer: Matt Read
Read, who was predicted at the start of the year by TSN's Bob McKenzie as this year's Calder Trophy winner, had a heck of a game. He opened up the scoring, and followed that up with three assists. Great game.
Fun Facts:
-David Rundblad was the only Senators defenseman to not be on the ice for a goal against.
-Nick Foligno and Peter Regin each had more ice-time than Jason Spezza. Foligno led all forwards with 18:37.
-Zenon Konopka's assist on Erik Karlsson's goal was his first point as an Ottawa Senator.
-Despite taking 17 shifts, Mika Zibanejad only took 4 face-offs. He lost 3 of them.
-Stephane Da Costa played only 7:57. The only player on the Sens with less ice-time was Konopka.
Highlights:
Forthcoming.