Panthers Completely Blow Out Sens 6–0
The Sens lost ugly to a much better team
This wasn't a good game. Not even close. The Ottawa Senators forgot to show up, and any chance at a competitive match-up felt out of reach just 90 seconds in. Joonas Korpisalo allowed 4 goals on 17 shots before being pulled; Anton Forsberg allowed 2 on 12 in relief. The Sens managed no goals on 30 shots, which included going 0/6 on the powerplay. It was depressing and I don't have much else to say about it beyond that.
Just 62 seconds after puck drop, Nick Cousins opened the scoring. 35 seconds later, Dmitry Kulikov made it 2–0. The game already felt over, though the refs tried to help Ottawa back into it with four powerplays in the period. In case anyone felt any hope, the Panthers scored two more in the first 4:19 of the second period, including Anton Lundell from an impossible angle that Korpisalo absolutely should've covered. After the fourth goal, he was pulled. Forsberg allowed a goal against late in the second, and then a powerplay goal not even 4 minutes into the third. Each period honestly felt like they started the same: the Panthers put the pedal to the metal and Ottawa couldn't respond in kind. The two teams didn't even look like they belonged in the same league. The game didn't even get rough at the end, with a deflated Sens team refusing to do much pushing back. It ended 6–0, and I commend any Sens fan who watched until the end. You are truly Sickos.
Game Thoughts:
- Does this game remind us that, on the whole, the goalies have sucked this year? Yes, absolutely. It's hard to win when you're down 2–0 in the first two minutes.
- Per Natural Stat Trick, the expected goals were nearly tied (3.10 for Florida, 2.97 for Ottawa), so the Sens at least got partially goalied by Bobrovsky.
- I'll give credit to Parker Kelly, who looked like he was actually trying, goaded Ryan Lomberg into the extra penalty with offsetting minors, and finished with 5 shots on goal. He's a rejuvenated player under Jacques Martin. The thing is, you don't win a lot of hockey games when a fourth-liner is your best player.
- The Sens were uncharacteristically sloppy on their passes. Guys like Shane Pinto and Drake Batherson were making unforced errors, passing the puck to nobody in the offensive zone. Maybe we can blame it on how hard it is to stay mentally engaged in a game like this.
- Seven games left!
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