Mike Condon has given up some bad goals this season. The winner by Jake DeBrusk of the Boston Bruins might shoot to the top of that list.
It's too bad, because like so many other games this season a Senators goalie played a solid game but it is the one save that they need, and a save a pee-wee goalie would make, that ended up being the difference.
A shot from the side boards that I am not even convinced would have been on the net, Condon tried to steer it to the corner but somehow ended up tipping it into his own net. Condon made 41 saves on the night, but the one that he didn't make is the one that haunts him and his tandem partner on far too many nights.
It is not all on the goalies, however, as the Senators have allowed shots at a remarkable pace for almost the last month. Starting with the Bruins game on Dec 30th, the Senators have allowed at least 33 shots on goal in each of the 11 games, and have allowed 40 or more shots 5 times.
So while Anderson and Condon have a large role to play in the Senators' struggles, they have also been hung out to dry on a lot of occasions.
They are averaging a league high 40 shots per game against in January, and second most goals against per game (3.8).
Ottawa got goals from Thomas Chabot (his first on home ice) and Ryan Dzingel, who matched last season's total with his 14th of the year, second on the Senators behind Mark Stone.
The downward spiral that started when they returned from Sweden shows no signs of slowing down, and in fact it is getting worse. I asked earlier in the week where rock bottom is, and I don't know if we have the answer yet.
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Meanwhile, the process for the development of LeBreton Flats was made public yesterday at an NCC press conference, with John Ruddy and Eugene Melnyk officially given the green light to begin securing funding for their $4B redevelopment plan that includes a new arena for the Senators.
It is a catch-22 for the fan base, because the development might take attention and focus from the hockey team in the short term, and it will be a long time before there are any benefits realized from it in terms of on-ice product. It also means there is no chance the team ownership is transferred, but it also makes the threat by Eugene Melnyk just before Christmas to move the franchise to another city just idle words.
Like him or not, Melnyk is in the driver's seat for the long haul, if there had been any doubt before.