Great Effort Goes Unrewarded in a 2-1 Loss to the Montreal Canadiens

After a much needed win against the Montreal Canadiens to end a dreadful road trip, the Sens were back home facing the Canadiens yet again. The Canadiens were smart enough to put Jake Allen in net as it is evident at this stage that the Senators have become Carey Price’s kryptonite.

The first period saw the Montreal Canadiens go on a shooting tear and right from the drop it was apparent that Matt Murray was going to try to bring on the momentum he had from the last game. Six minutes into the first, the Sens got on the PK and it didn’t take long for the Habs to capitalize on a blasting shot from Jeff Petry to make it 1-0. You might have started to wonder if it was going to be one of those games where the PK would end us.

Luckily for the Sens, Colin White is starting to feel and look much more comfortable with his role on the team; it’s worth asking what took so long for DJ Smith to give him that chance. With less than 8 minutes to go in the period and 20 seconds remaining on the power play, White found a way to poke in the equalizer behind Jake Allen.

The big moment of the period wasn’t a goal or a great pass, however, it was a hit on Tim Stützle from Josh Anderson that looked like it could have done some serious damage to his knee. Crisis averted but it was only the beginning of a series of abuses Stützle would take on from obviously jealous Habs players.

The second period saw a more determined Sens team and they outplayed the Canadiens for the majority of the period. It was the second period though that cost the Sens a win in this game. Tim Stützle was the target of multiple hits and high sticks and it seemed the Montreal Canadiens had no reason to fear going after the young talent. They were getting called by the refs, but the Sens were not really fighting back.

After getting three power play opportunities, the Sens managed to end the period still tied at 1. Jake Allen was good and so was the Canadiens PK but the Sens were still caught being too casual with the puck at times and there was absolutely no excuse to waste the endless golden opportunities they were handed. Brady Tkachuk was doing a mighty job getting under the skin of the Habs’ entire team but at times he seemed like he was losing focus in the process. Watching the second period, you really have to appreciate the talent and potential on this team even if they did fail to capitalize on their scoring chances. Maybe Jake Allen is our kryptonite?

The third period confirmed that this team is jinxed or at least unlucky. Continuing their great work from the second period, the Sens continued to miss one opportunity after the other. Matt Murray made the much needed saves until he was beaten by Josh Anderson on a third attempt after he made stellar saves on the first two. It was at that moment where it seemed the Sens were going to lose a game they probably deserved to win.

Later in the frame, Erik Gudbranson had a questionable hit on Jake Evans. At first sight it just looked like a good hard hit by the bench but from a secon angles, there could be an argument made about it being high. Gudbranson wasn’t called for it but Evans had to be taken out for further evaluation. I expect to see much more analysis on his hit because you know, the Montreal Canadiens.

The Sens continued to battle, they were forcing turnovers, making the big hits and getting all sorts of shots on net but nothing was going in. With less than five minutes to go, the Sens got yet another golden opportunity to tie the game when Ben Chiarot took a holding penalty against Tkachuk. The power play continued to struggle though until eventually Thomas Chabot was forced to take a holding penalty negating the power play.

While the Sens didn’t give up until the very end, the final score was 2-1 with Ottawa outshooting the Habs 35-32. If the Sens continue to play like this, not only could we see more wins but the development of this team will just be superb.

Notable Performances

• Those red retro jerseys are just fire, maybe an unpopular opinion but I would have preferred those to be the main ones over the black
• Matt Murray had another great game despite the loss and ensured that the team had a fighting chance after being heavily outshot in the first period
• Cannot say enough good things about Artem Zub, who continues to make people wonder why it took so long to call him up
• Erik Brännström has been unfairly called a bust and personally I don’t see why. While he still needs some more time to adjust, I do see him earning a full time spot on this roster and playing an importnat role
• The team overall played extremely well and it was just unfortunate they couldn’t get rewarded/

Game Flow

Heatmap