Sens' Winning Streak Comes to an End with 6-3 Loss to Habs
Important game in the standings? No. Important game in my heart? Absolutely.
Standings-wise, today's matchup between the NHL's two francophone teams was only important for one of them. The Sens aren't completely in the clear, but they've given themselves enough of a buffer that they can afford to lose a few games down the stretch. The Habs, on the other hand? They needed this win. And for Habs haters like myself, that fact alone made this one of the most important Sens games of the season.
I really, really miss the days when these matchups against Montreal were easy wins.
The Habs showed up on time, looking very much like a team fighting for a playoff spot. They scored almost immediately, on a weird play where Ullmark lost his stick and no one gave it back to him. 1-0 Montreal.
Ottawa pulled themselves together after that goal, but Montreal was still the better team. Each team got a powerplay opportunity about halfway through, but the 1-0 score held.
The Sens picked things up a lot later on in the period, getting most of the good scoring chances from there on out. Batherson eventually tied the game! 1-1.
A Drake Batherson SNIPE JOB gets this crowd fired up 🎯 #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/WIR4z88gAF
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 18, 2025
They even hit both posts in the very last minute of the period. Things were looking up!
That continued in the second period, with the game pretty open but Ottawa looking like the better team. As is expected with these two teams, there was a lot of back-and-forth, and no small amount of silly plays.
The Sens took the lead for the first time in the game when Amadio extended his goal streak(?) by tapping in a Hamonic shot from the point. Just as we drew it up. 2-1 Ottawa.
Some mustard from the 🔨 bro helps set the stage for this 1️⃣ 🆙 from Amadio 🍄 #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/OMFx0keTDm
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 19, 2025
Unfortunately, things couldn't be that easy. Montreal came storming back for the third period, and the Sens forgot how to play defense. When Lane Hutson went top shelf on Ullmark, it was not a surprise at all. 2-2.
Thankfully, the tie didn't last long. Hamonic, presumably mad that his earlier goal got stolen by Amadio, took the lead back with a slapshot from the point. I cannot believe that play actually worked. Hamonic tries it so often I assumed it was impossible to score with it. 3-2 Ottawa.
A sneaky Hammer Clapper finds it's way to the back of the net 💥 #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/bRSryyg4AV
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 19, 2025
Just when we thought the Sens might pull off the win, Montreal tied it, and then things got worse. Ullmark covered the puck and everyone on the Sens clearly expected a whistle, but there was a rebound and the Habs tapped it in. 4-3 Montreal.
Two empty-netters followed. 6-3 Montreal.
Kill me.
Game Notes:
- Hamonic giveth, and Hamonic taketh away. Props on essentially scoring two goals, but he also looked pretty bad on several of those Montreal goals.
- Ullmark was phenomenal once again.
- I liked what I saw from Ridly Greig, even if it didn't manifest on the scoresheet. He really seems to enjoy these rivalry games.
