Ottawa Senators Lose 2-1 to the Calgary Flames in Heartbreaking Fashion

Did you want something to feel good about Sens fans? Well, it wasn’t going to be this game.

The Ottawa Senators actually did something phenomenal by inviting 186 new Canadians to the ice and benches for their citizenship ceremony. It truly was a sight to see all the new faces on the ice and benches singing the national anthem and full credit for the Sens on making it happen. If you missed it, I highly recommend you watch it because these are the moments that genuinely represent the hospitality of this city and country.

Now for the game.

The game started with a good pace by both teams with the Sens looking like the most challenged team. The Flames wasted no time taking advantage of the Sens’ inexperienced and thin defence. A pass from Chabot to Chlapik who was easily knocked off the puck landed on the stick of Backlund in front of the net. It ended right behind Andy to make it 1-0.

The Flames didn’t wait long to make it 2-0, but an angry reaction by Anderson sparked a coach’s challenge. Andy had clearly frozen the puck when M. Tkachuk poked at it to score the goal. There was no whistle, but after a lengthy review, it was determined that it was goalie interference and the Sens get a lucky break.

Shots were tied at six apiece at this point, and the Sens were looking decent trying to keep up with the Flames.

After a scary shift by the Flames where the Sens went into full panic mode, the Sens were finally able to free the puck out of their own zone. They seemed to have liked the challenge of being entirely overpowered, so they went ahead and took a penalty. It was taken by none other than new face Cody Goloubef; seriously the name Cody just doesn’t go well on the Sens team. Penalty was killed, the Sens have been impressive on the penalty kill as of late killing 12 out of the last 14.

Anderson seemed to be on his game, making some key saves, especially a nice poke check with a little more than five minutes left.

The Sens were making me feel bad for them — they really looked like they were trying to spin something positive. Ryan hustled with a steal and almost tied the game but was stopped. On the other end, Chabot showcased his talents once again as Anderson fell and Chabot swiped it away.

The first period ended at 1-0 with the Flames outshooting the Sens 13-11. Not bad.

The second period saw the two teams exchanging chances but with no goals coming. The Sens took a penalty where they spent the entire two minutes in their zone, but with the help of collective desperation and Andy heroics, it was killed. The Flames take over the game after the momentum from the power play, even outshooting the Sens 20-12 at this point.

The Sens got an excellent chance to score, but they were robbed. The good Tkachuk drew a penalty and while they didn’t score, it did energize them.

As the period winded down, the Flames had a terrible giveaway to an all alone Brady Tkachuk. He made no mistake to tie the game, and the shutout was finally over. If you’re curious, it lasted for 160 minutes and 55 seconds.

It does seem Brady inherited his goal celebrations from his soon to be ex-tenant Mark Stone *sobs*. Also, the Tkachuks with their ugly jerseys are officially my favourite hockey family, that crowd was rockin’.

The period ended with the Sens on their second power play and hope for a decent third period.

The Sens didn’t score on the PP, and it didn’t seem like it was going to end well for them. They did get a power play that both helped and hurt them. Chabot had a perfect blast from the line that hit the post. Bobby Ryan was quick on the rebound and made it 2-1. Or so we thought.

Ryan had poked the puck from under Rittich’s glove after he had clearly froze it. Sound familiar? It was the exact same play as the goal called back from Matthew Tkachuk, so it was only obvious it wouldn’t count. It didn’t, and we were back at 1-1.

Other than a successful penalty kill by the Sens, they seemed to be struggling to hold their own. It did seem like they were at least going to take it to OT and grab a sympathy point.

I really don’t know what we did as Sens fans to deserve so much agony. With less than a minute left, newcomer Anthony Duclair gets the golden heroic opportunity to make it 2-1 only to hit the post. Immediately, the Flames come back, and they hit the back of the net.

2-1 Flames, game over.

Seriously, Sens? Seriously? I give up!

Notable Performances:

• The team overall really fought for this. There were the obvious mistakes and shortcomings, but I’ll give them some credit. Not only are they really short on experienced players, but they’re also being coached by one of the most incompetent coaches in the league. Their mental state must not be at the highest point either.
• Anthony Duclair may have failed to score the 2-1 goal, but I liked what I saw from his first game.
• Craig Anderson had a really solid game and was a big reason why this game ended at just 2-1.
• Brady Tkachuk is better than Matthew Tkachuk, and I will not be told otherwise.
• Keith Tkachuk took to the pre-game show with a passionate showing of how the Sens need to keep Stone; you are a hero of the resistance Keith./

Game Flow

Heat Map