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Ottawa's four-game series to date against the Washington Capitals has been an unmitigated disaster, and that's probably putting it nicely. On Wednesday, the Ottawa Senators moved to 0-2-1 on the year against their conference rival, but it was yet another painstakingly close game that made the regulation loss exponentially more painful.
In the first of three games back in October, the Ottawa Senators dominated tempo for the majority of the night, but couldn't solve Tomas Vokoun. Final score? Washington 2, Ottawa 1.
The second game - played back on Saturday night - was a more-balanced affair, but again, Ottawa came up just short. Brooks Laich's overtime winner mere seconds in came on the flukiest of chances, with Erik Karlsson blowing a tire (or being picked off by a sniper in SEC 301) on the rush.
And, tonight, the Ottawa Senators failed to protect a third-period lead, much to the chagrin of Paul MacLean.
Although Washington jumped out to an early lead courtesy of Jeff Halpern, an absolutely ridiculous spear by Alexander Ovechkin on Chris Neil turned momentum in favor of Ottawa. The referee called Neil for a dive, even though every single fan in attendance at Scotiabank Place knew Ovechkin cheap-shotted Neil in the worst area of a male's body.
Side-note: In the post game, Neil stated that he didn't think Ovechkin was a dirty player, and that the referees simply missed a tough call. Tend to agree with him here - it was a pretty subtle shot.
Ottawa quickly answered with a pair of goals from Erik Condra and Nick Foligno, the second a dazzling display of puck-handling. Then, the wheels came off.
Ottawa, who had thwarted the Washington rush all night long, gave up scores to Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, and Troy Brouwer in succession, prompting fans to hit the exits early at Scotiabank Place.
Of course, I only included that last tidbit to point out that paying fans actually left a 4-2 hockey game with five minutes left. But, I digress.
Milan Michalek pushed the game to back within one late on a power-play, and Ottawa was gifted a late man advantage after Joel Ward was sent off for slashing. The Senators failed to convert, though, and John Carlson eventually hit the empty-netter.
For Ottawa, it was another tough loss against a clearly more talented team, but that certainly doesn't make the zero-point night easier to swallow. No one could've pegged this team inside of the playoff race back in August, but the fact is they're very much alive, even with their almost innate ability to leave extra points on the board.
Really, that's not hyperbole. In three of the last four games (Dallas, @Washington, Washington), Ottawa's 0-2-1, yet easily could've won all three. Imagine where Ottawa would be if they were +5 in the standings?
You don't have to imagine, because I'll tell you. The answer is fourth place, fifth only if the Philadelphia Flyers hang on and beat the Buffalo Sabres tonight.
Hockey's a funny game, and Ottawa's done a quality job of making the most of the opportunity presented to them this season. But, to say there isn't room for improvement is - quite frankly - ridiculous.
The good news? Ottawa doesn't have a minute to think about the loss. They're back in action tomorrow night in New Jersey.
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