Sens Lose Second Straight to Lightning, 5-1
Can we just play all our games on weekends?
These two games against the Lightning were probably the most important games the Sens have played all season, and they have now lost both of them. It's a disappointing result, but it's also reassuring to know that the Sens have put themselves in a good enough spot that they can survive it.
Don't let the score fool you: this was a close game, and one Ottawa absolutely could have won. Should they have won it? Maybe not. But it was closer than you might think.
Whereas Tuesday’s game saw the Sens score the first goal then lose the lead later on, the teams decided to switch things up in this rematch. Ottawa didn’t look much better than they had on Tuesday for the first few minutes of the game, and eventually surrendered a powerplay goal. 1-0 Tampa Bay.
The Sens had a few good moments, and the game was certainly under control, but the Lightning were clearly the better team.
They started the second period with a powerplay, and looked quite good, but unfortunately Tampa got a really good scoring chance right after they returned to 5 on 5.
It was Micheal Amadio who got the equalizer eventually, tipping in a shot from Tim Stützle. It’s so cool how the Sens are good enough now that even when they don’t really look like they deserve to win, they still have a chance to win. 1-1.
Back-to-back games with a goal for Ammo 💪#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/Sswk7N6x8c
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) February 7, 2025
Unfortunately, the Lightning came surging back. They got a powerplay, and didn’t score on it, but shortly afterward, Brandon Hagel walked right around Thomas Chabot to make the score 2-1 Tampa Bay.
That was one of several moments tonight that felt like old-school Ottawa Senators Defensive Breakdowns™. Moments where you had to wonder why on earth the Tampa player had such a clear line to the net.
Anyways, the Sens did get one back… but it was waved off because the puck didn’t cross the line all the way. It was about 90% over the line. Extremely frustrating, especially since it feels like the game could have gone very differently if it had just been tied going into the third period.
The third period began with yet another powerplay that the Sens couldn’t capitalize on. Brady Tkachuk got injured at one point and looked to be in a lot of pain, but stayed on the bench, so hopefully he’s okay. Tampa got another unbelievable scoring chance that resulted in Kleven taking a bad penalty. Forsberg came up big for the Sens on that penalty kill - he really kept the Sens in the game there.
Thankfully, those big saves seemed to give the Sens a boost of energy. Tim Stützle got an absolutely outrageous scoring chance, as he tends to do, and the Sens generally pushed hard for the typing goal.
Tragically, their efforts were all for naught. Tampa scored the backbreaking 3-1 goal with just over five minutes left in the game. They got an empty netter soon after that, then another one with Forsberg in net.
The final score didn’t reflect the game at all. Much like Tuesday’s meeting, it was a game where the Sens were the worse team but were in it right until the end. A tough loss to a team they’re chasing in the playoff race, but they’re not out of it by any means.
Game Notes
- My main takeaway from this game was that they were really missing their injured players, and not just because of the actual talent missing. The 11-7 lineup seemed to be creating a lot of chaos, especially on defense, leading to a lot of strange errors and general sloppiness.
- I thought Forsberg had a typical Forsberg game; he wasn’t the reason they lost, nor did he steal the game. He kept them in it in some moments.
- Tim Stützle was great, but what else is new?
- I thought Brady Tkachuk also had an excellent game. Let’s hope he’s not hurt.
