Sens Lose 5-2 to Oilers
Getting pretty tired of this!
I don’t even know, guys.
It’s November. The Sens are doing what they always do in November. Are they actually as bad as their recent record suggests? No. Will that matter? Probably not. They haven’t tanked their season yet, but given how this usually goes, I think we’re all allowed to panic as much as we want until they end the month in a playoff spot.
The Sens started the game well enough, testing the Edmonton goalie with a few decent scoring chances. Unfortunately, during a pretty good shift by the Sens, the puck went the other way and Bouchard undressed Chabot then went top shelf on Ullmark, scoring on the Oilers’ first shot of the game. 1-0 Edmonton.
Edmonton took over a bit toward the second half of the period, but it was mostly pretty back-and-forth; each team would spend a few minutes setting up in the offensive zone before play went back the other way.
Thankfully, Tim Stützle came to the rescue, evening the score with a gorgeous shot from the slot. The guy loves playing the Edmonton Oilers. 1-1.
99 red balloons
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) November 20, 2024
Floating in the CTC
Timmy calls, it's a red lamp
As 99 red balloons go by 🎈 pic.twitter.com/F5TUt25WG9
Unfortunately, the game wasn’t tied for long. McDavid answered immediately, while the Sens were still announcing the Stützle goal. 2-1 Edmonton.
The period ended disastrously, when the Sens took two penalties in close succession - the second one being a faceoff violation, of all things - resulting in the Oilers getting a very long 5-on-3. Feels like a thing you shouldn’t do against what is famously the best powerplay in the league.
Guess what happened.
3-1 Edmonton.
Ottawa killed off the second penalty, at least, and then got a makeup call early in the second period. It didn’t do them any good, because Draisaitl scored right after it expired. 4-1 Edmonton.
It almost makes it worse that the Sens weren’t even being outplayed that badly. They had the puck at least half the time. They just didn’t get enough good shots on goal, and every once in a while they had a total defensive breakdown that ended up in the back of their net.
We were only halfway through the game that was very much still within reach, but the Sens looked completely dejected. No fight at all in this team.
They picked up the pace a little bit toward the end of the second period, but Skinner stopped the few exciting chances they managed to string together.
Seeing a player on your team get injured is always terrifying, but there’s something especially frustrating about seeing it happen in a meaningless game. It always makes a bad night that much worse. Tonight, Nick Jensen left the game after getting his head slammed into a stanchion. It was very scary, and I hope he ends up being okay, not just because he’s so important to the team.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, that awful, awful period of hockey ended with Tim Stützle going to the box. I, for one, think a little bit of cross checking is appropriate in this situation, just to let off steam you know, but I guess the refs didn’t understand my vision.
Nick Jensen was back on the bench at the start of the third period, so there’s that at least, but there wasn’t much else in the way of good news, as the Sens continued to play the exact same way as before.
Edmonton eventually extended their lead to 5-1 Edmonton.
After a lot more of the same, the Sens finally got one back. Jensen shot the puck from the point and Norris tipped it in. It was reviewed for a possible high stick, because everybody hates the Sens and is conspiring against them, but the goal stood in the end. Not that it mattered. 5-2 Edmonton.
God, I’m so tired of this. Couldn’t they at least change the script a bit year after year?
Game Notes
- There’s no way Ullmark is at 100% right now. He hasn’t been good since his injury. He wasn’t the only reason the Sens lost this game, but it would have been a lot closer if he hadn’t let in a few soft ones.
- Rare bad game from Jake Sanderson.
- Also a rare bad game from Artem Zub.
- For the second game in a row, Tim Stützle was the only player good enough to deserve a shoutout.
