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Better Effort, Same Result: Sens Lose 2-1 to Penguins |
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Having lost four of their past five games, the Ottawa Senators took to the road to play the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins. It was Ottawa's first game in the new Consol Energy Center, but it ended in much of the same fashion against this experienced Pittsburgh team - this time, by the score of 2-1.
Cory Clouston clearly got through to his team about the lack of effort over the past few games, because this Senators team was clearly more motivated. However, that doesn't amount to a whole lot when you're playing one of the best teams in the National Hockey League, and missed opportunities, turnovers, penalties, and a lack of goal scoring again plagued Ottawa.
For the second game this week(LA on Monday), the zebras were atrocious. Can't imagine Cory Clouston's going to be thrilled with their calling of the game, but by that same token, they're not the reason why Ottawa lost this game.
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Ottawa took the lead in the middle of the first period on a rebound from Jarkko Ruutu's point shot. Jesse Winchester saw the puck bounce right in front of the crease, and he tucked it nicely past Marc-Andre Fleury on the 15th shot of the game. That's right - fifteen shots in thirteen minutes(the first period ended with 21 team shots), a stark contrast from the recent string of games where Ottawa was tallying under twenty over three whole periods. The barrage of pucks in the direction of Marc-Andre Fleury kept the pressure off of Pascal Leclaire and the defense in the first period, a welcomed change.
Scary moment for the Senators in the second when Matt Cooke took a run on Erik Karlsson. Cooke was sent to the penalty box for his hit, but the real story was Karlsson, who laid in obvious pain on the ice for a couple of minutes before skating off. Thankfully, returned to action on his next shift.
The highlight of the second period for the Ottawa Senators was unquestionably Pascal Leclaire's highway roobery of Sidney Crosby. Crosby had received a pass from behind the net just a few feet away from the goal, but his one-timer was beautifully snagged by Pascal Leclaire's glove.
Pittsburgh tied the game up at one after capitalizing on a power-play opportunity, something that's plagued the Penguins team all season long. Erik Karlsson had taken an interference penalty trying to shield Sidney Crosby from an open puck to earn his two, and during the waning moments of the man advantage, Evgeni Malkin burned the Sens PK. With a huge crowd in front of the net and a sprawled out Pascal Leclaire unable to defend the net, Malkin's slap shot easily found the back of the net.
The Penguins grabbed a 2-1 lead on quite the controversial score. Chris Kelly was in the box for consecutive penalties on the same shift (hooking, holding), but only one warranted time in the box. Kelly clearly was guilty of hooking behind the net, but the holding call was simply asinine. After Ottawa killed off the first two-minute minor, they gave up a goal to Alex Goligoski where the second part of the "controversy" manifested. Mike Fisher was blatantly taken down in his end with no call made, essentially allowing Goligoski to skate right in and bury the shot past Leclaire from point blank.
A late surge by the Ottawa Senators with the goalie pulled almost brought the game to a tie, but Marc-Andre Fleury was up to the task. Sergei Gonchar's scoring opportunity with ten seconds left was turned aside by the Penguins goaltender, and Pittsburgh held on for the victory.
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The quick start that the Ottawa Senators got off to in the first period quickly diminished during the back forty. When the Pittsburgh Penguins decided to match the intensity of the Ottawa Senators and start banging them around on all ends of the ice, the Senators backed away rather than meet the challenge.
There's no disputing that Ottawa certainly played better tonight against Pittsburgh, and if this effort was exuded against the likes of Dallas, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Carolina, the Senators might have a couple more wins. Unfortunately, there's a reason why the Penguins have hoisted the Stanley Cup - they know how to finish games, plain and simple.
You can point to some of the horrific refereeing, especially in the third period, as the reason why the Ottawa Senators lost this game. While I won't dispute that The Stripes were again no better than putrid (the Kelly holding call, the Fisher non call, and the Neil non-call all egregious in their own right), scoring one goal a game is rarely going to win you a game in the National Hockey League.
Sportsnet made it a point tonight to illustrate how little help Pascal Leclaire is getting in the goal scoring department these days, and I really can't disagree. He's now lost six games this season where his team has only scored one goal over the course of sixty minutes.
Ottawa will get a chance to rebound tomorrow night against the Toronto Maple Leafs on HNIC, and hopefully the slightly better effort exuded tonight can amount to a win tomorrow.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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