It probably wasn't by design, and those who have felt the Senators have been playing boring hockey (and there are a lot of you), you got a look at the alternative last night in Pittsburgh.
A game that featured upwards of 80 shots and many scoring chances, shaky goaltending by both startets, and a firewagon brand of hockey that harkened back to the mid-80's probably wasn't in Guy Boucher's game plan, because in a run and gun race against the defending Stanley Cup Champions they are simply outgunned.
A sluggish start for the Senators was mitigated by a strong power play but there are lots of opportunities for second-guessing. Anderson was not sharp and perhaps the time off has started affecting his game, or maybe he was tired from the work earlier on in the matchup, or a combination of the two, but the two late 2nd period goals that tied the game and gave the Penguins the lead were inexcuseable and his halfhearted wave at both of them were very deflating. It wasn't his night, and perhaps inserting Mike Condon for the third might have made a difference, because the Evgeni Malkin goal in the first minute of the third was even worse.
The Senators special teams was very effective, but the one gaffe that resulted in the Matt Cullen shorthanded goal was the turning point, coming shortly after the Senators had tallied twice on the power play to take a 2 goal lead.
I said yesterday in the preview
The Penguins are coming off a win over the Red Wings where they scored four times in the third to erase a 3-1 deficit.
That plays counter to the Senators game plan, as they have been prone to taking parts of the game off, and if they do that against the Penguins and their quick-strike offense, it will not be a positive outcome.
That is essentially what happened. Pittsburgh is a team with the firepower to know that they are never out of a game, and as a result will never give up. You can find fault with the Senators for letting down for a spell, but they also deserve some credit for not giving up and playing hard to get back in the game in the third. Matt Murray shut the door after coming in to replace Marc-Andre Fleury, stopping 17 of 18 shots he faced.
The loss overshadowed some positive offensive numbers from the Senators, with Erik Karlsson recording 4 points and Mark Stone 3. Because they did most of their damage on the power play and Pittsburgh scored seven at even strength and one shorthanded, it wasn't a good night in the +/- column, with a lot of -3's and -2's.
On the other side, Rust's empty netter was his first hat trick in the NHL and it went along with an assist for a 4 point night of his own, and Malkin had 3, as did Phil Kessel, who might as well be nicknamed "Melnyk" because he has owned the Senators over the years. Another player who has always had tremendous success against Ottawa is Sidney Crosby, who was held to just a single goal on a night where his team scored 8, a testament to the depth and the variety of sources of offense the Pens can put out on any given night.
As for Anderson, I expressed concern when this process of leaving and coming back started, and for a time it worked, but his stamina and lack of practice time might be starting to catch up with him. It might be the right intent, but the longer this goes on, the more it could affect him and be counterproductive. And in fact, Anderson is returning to Ottawa today and Andrew Hammond will go on the California leg of the road trip.
Curtis Lazar, who left the game one shift into the second period after a collision along the boards and then the ice, has also returned to Ottawa and the Senators have called up Phil Varone. I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but that looked like concussion to me.
So get some sleep tonight, because tomorrow night in San Jose is a late one with a 10:30 puck drop. Fortunately, that is the only late one, because Saturday and Sunday are both 4:00 Eastern starts.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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