Senators fall to Jagr, Panthers; Lose 4-2
A recap of tonight's game between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators
After last night's disappointing loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dave Cameron put the Ottawa lines in a blender and hit pulse. But instead of creating a delicious smoothie, we were left with some green sludge in which the key ingredient must have been kale. Florida dominated for the first 10 minutes of the period but slowly Ottawa started to get on the board. Ottawa's efforts to get something going on two first period power plays were thwarted by two careless penalties from Alex Chiasson away from the play. The first ended scoreless, with Florida winning the shot battle 14-9.
The second period was defined by Ottawa's lack of discipline. Twice Eric Gryba took needless penalties which led to power play goals for the Panthers. The second penalty was particularly egregious, as Gryba just punched Jonathan Huberdeau in the side of the head while "defending" for no apparent reason. While both goals came on the power play, the first goal, scored by Jaromir Jagr, absolutely should have been stopped by Craig Anderson. It was not a good period from the Senators and it was made worse by putting Florida on the power play four times in the frame. The period finished 2-0, shots 14-7 in favour of Florida.
The third period was certainly interesting. An early goal by Erik Karlsson, his 20th of the season, got the Sens and the crowd back in the game. The Sens pushed for much of the period but Dan Ellis was up to the task. With six minutes left in the period, Huberdeau picked Mika Zibanejad's pocket at the Florida blueline then fed Jaromir Jagr, who faked and walked around an Andy poke check before scoring on a wraparound. Jean-Gabriel Pageau's late goal made it 3-2, but a high-sticking penalty to Tomas Kopecky gave Ottawa a 6-on-4 advantage. Dave Bolland's empty-netter sealed the 4-2 win for the Panthers. Shots 37-27 for Florida. It was another disappointing performance from the Senators, but after a 17-2-2 run, there was always going to be a bit of a letdown, unfortunately.
Dishonourable Mention: Dave Cameron
While I normally refrain from singling out the coach in recaps because he's not actually on the ice, tonight Cameron made some poor coaching decisions that negatively impacted the game. He moved away from the line blender in the third, but the Sens had already dug themselves a hole at that point.
Dishonourable Mention: Craig Anderson
It's a little harsh as he did make several key saves in this game and was playing the second game of a back-to-back still fighting an injury, but he still gets a dishonourable mention. Both the first goal and the third goal, Jagr's second of the game on a wraparound Andy would like back. Still, he was a 91.7 SV% on the night.
Sens Zero: Alex Chiasson
I don't fault Chiasson for the role he was placed in tonight. He doesn't choose his linemates and those kind of decisions are on the coach. I do fault him for some terrible decision making in the first period as he twice took his team of the power play, with considerable time left in those advantages too. He showed the kind of lack of discipline that sometimes gets players scratch.
Sens Zero: Eric Gryba
Similar to Chiasson except Gryba's penalties didn't cost the Sens power plays, instead it was two goals against. A candidate to sit next game and so Patrick Wiercioch can get back in the lineup.
Sens Killer: Jaromir Jagr
This guy. Two goals from the NHL's most senior citizen. His second goal of the night made it too much for the Sens to come back from. Love Jagr, but not today.
Shot chart via ESPN:
Game Flow via Natural Stat Trick:
Highlights: