The Ottawa Senators had another "close but not quite" game against a quality opponent, and like so many things that have gone on this season, you could argue that as a positive or a negative, depending on your personal outlook. It was supposed to be a new season, and the afternoon game wasn't supposed to be a factor. I don't know if it was, but the team's record in afternoon games is inexplicable. It is not like they were vastly outplayed, but once again the Senators came away with nothing but moral victories from a game starting before 5.

Alex Steen's tip-in goal just past the midway point of the game put the Blues up 3-1 and proved to be the game winner as Erik Karlsson got one back but the Sens couldn't find the equalizer. The Blues ended up with the 3-2 win.

Here are some random thoughts on the game:

I'll start with the negative...

*This is a tough game to critique, because the Senators did a lot of good things, but were hampered by the big mistake. Cody Ceci completely whiffed on Max Lapierre for the game's opening goal, allowing Lapierre to walk around him and step out front all alone and beat Robin Lehner. If it was someone like Vlad Tarasenko or T.J. Oshie making that play, you kind of tip your hat to him, but it was freaking Max Lapierre.

*Erik Karlsson had a few horrendous giveaways, on plays that weren't even close. He handed the puck to Jori Lehtera twice like he was Jason Spezza and Karlsson was Sheldon Souray back in the day.

*After going 14 for 19 in the faceoff circle, including 5 for 5 against one of the best faceoff guys in the league (Paul Gaustad) on Thursday, Kyle Turris was abysmal on the draw against the Blues. He was just 2-for-14 Saturday.

*The Senators actually had more Corsi events, 57-55, but their problem was that more than half of their attempts were either blocked (17) or missed the net (14). Meanwhile the Blues forced Lehner to make a save (or not) on 60% of their attempts. That is where Corsi is misleading, because it now seems like shot attempts are just done to help that rating, and as more attention is being paid to that in all areas of the game, the more players take rather useless attempts. That is something that has gotten my attention lately, and although he didn't play last night I notice that about Erik Condra more than anyone, where he attempts a shot in situations where he has no business attempting one, and a better play could be made. Shot attempts are an easy stat to accumulate, because there has to be zero success to get a positive result. Yes, it means you had the puck, but if there is a better play to be made, then you aren't making the right play. It is "a" way to measure things, but by no means do I think it is "the" way.

And now some of the positives:

* Who said Bobby Ryan and Mika Zibanejad have no chemistry? Ryan found Mika pretty nicely for the Senators opening goal on the power play to even the score at 1. Ryan did some nice work behind the net, and Zibanejad put himself in a nice position to score.

* His whiff on Lapierre aside, Ceci is getting better and better with every game. He and Cowen were -2 on the night, but they played a decent game. The second goal they were on the ice for was a pretty remarkable shot by Tarasenko. For a left-handed shot to beat a goalie top shelf on the far side from the spot he did, you just tip your hat to one of the hottest players in the league. The puck was on his stick for such a short period of time you almost think he jedi mind-tricked the puck to changing direction, without him even touching it. That is a quick release and a tough spot to pick. That line is really good. One of the top 3 in the league, especially since That 70's Line in LA has slowed down somewhat. Ceci's poise on the penalty kill continues to amaze me, having watched him play junior on a very regular basis I never saw that coming.

* The Senators made a couple of really creative plays in the third period. Karlsson made a pretty incredible (and also very dangerous) curl and drag move at the blue line, and they also completed a couple of back-to-back behind-the-back passes to create a chance that, if memory serves me correctly, missed the net.

* The Blues are fortunate that their own version of the Kid Line (well Lehtera is a 26 year old NHL rookie) is playing so well, because Paul Stastny (the Blues' $7M/year free agent signing) was completely invisible, as was T.J. Oshie, and captain David Backes spent more time being an A-hole than trying to score. How Backes didn't get a penalty in his third period mugging of Patrick Wiercioch is beyond me. It lasted close to 20 seconds where he simply dragged him to the ice and held him there...if that isn't interference I don't know what is.

* Zach Smith moving between Stone and Hoffman signified the end of anything "Kid Line", at least for now. Zibanejad was demoted to the 4th line with Michalek and Neil. In fact, does anyone like the combinations that were used against St. Louis? I will accept Chiasson on a line with Turris and MacArthur, for the sake of balance. But the other three lines on paper look like a hot mess. Hopefully Lazar can get back for Monday and they can finally try the lines they were using in practice on Wednesday in a game.

* While Tarasenko was drafted with the pick that Ottawa sent the Blues to get David Rundblad, the likelihood that Tarasenko would have been a Senator even if that trade wasn't made is quite small. By the time that draft had rolled around, the Sens had fallen out of love for Russians, and Bryan Murray has a track record of avoiding Russian players like the plague. He has drafted 1 Russian player since 2000, and that was Ruslan Bashkirov in the second round of 2007, when he had been on the job less than a week in Ottawa, and was still listening to John Muckler's scouting staff. So while you can bemoan the fact that Tarasenko could have been a Senator, and how nice that might be now, it wasn't likely to happen that way, and the Senators ended up flipping Rundblad for Turris so it turned out ok for both teams.

After the game, the Senators players and coach that were made available for interviews to a man seemed to give the Blues too much credit and almost accepted the loss. "That is a good team" seemed to be the company line, and although I don't expect chair throwing or flipping of tables in the dressing room, the post game seemed to lack a certain intensity that seemed to carry over from the ice. The team didn't seem to show much urgency in the late stages, and just managed 5 shots in the third. Yes, and they acknowledged that the Blues don't give you much and they lock you down (by any means necessary, right Backes?) when they have a lead, but there wasn't much emotion from the coach right on down. MacLean admitted their lack of success in the third period, most notably the faceoff circle and inability to hit the net on their chances were disappointing, and that results in chasing even more.

Yes, it is just one of 82 games in a long season, and you can't get too high or too low. But for a game that was there for the taking, the Senators didn't seem to bear down in crunch time, and it was almost acceptable, at least publicly, being close against a good team. And yes, I fully realize the number of cliches I just used.

There were lots of positives from that game, and it was a pretty solid effort against a team that, as MacLean put it "They don't let you up, they make you earn it".

They will get a chance to return the favor in St. Louis on Tuesday night after the Senators get done with Detroit on Monday night.

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