It was a testy affair in Beantown as the Bruins and Senators squared off for the second time in 3 days, and there was little Christmas Spirit in this one.
Ottawa's inability to kill penalties was apparent as they allowed 4 power play goals, ironically the margin of victory in the 7-4 game that got out of control at the end.
From the first Bruins goal you got a feeling it wasn't going to be Ottawa's night, as a seam in the dasher board kicked a puck that was seemingly going to be a harmless shoot-around deflected right in front of the net while Craig Anderson was already waiting for it to come around to the other side. The result was an easy tap in for the first of Jimmy Hayes' three goals on the night.
Patrice Bergeron and Matt Beleskey each added a pair in the game that was closer than the final score indicated, as the Senators lost their focus and let a 4-3 game get away in the final 5 minutes.
The officials lost control of this one the moment they gave Brad Marchand a slashing penalty for an obvious spear to the mid-section of Kyle Turris while Turris was otherwise involved in a shoving match with Zdeno Chara. If he had been given the appropriate major for spearing some of the shenanigans could have been avoided. Instead Ottawa went after the Bruins other pest, Landon Ferraro, who although hasn't imitated his dad's offensive ability yet, certainly inherited his ability to get under the skin of his opponent.
First it was Chris Wideman who took Ferraro out behind the Ottawa net on what was a hockey play, but then a few shifts later Max McCormack went right after Ferraro and the two went at it. That set the tone for the final two minutes as there was tension in the air and Chris Neil and Zac Rinaldo on the ice as the primary pugilists. That shift the Bruins took execption to Dave Dziurzynski finishing his check on Adam McQuaid and a line brawl broke out, with Rinaldo ending up paired off with Dziurzynski. In a mismatch of fighting ability (we remember well when DD tired to step up in weight class a couple of years ago), the expected result happened and Rinaldo put Dziurzynski down, but didn't let up and continued to punch his opponent while he was on the ice, in clear violation of the "fighter's code".
That angered Mark Borowiecki who had rage in his eyes as he tried to get at Rinaldo but was held at bay by the referee. There is certainly no love lost between these two teams and it sets up an interesting matchup in 10 days time when the teams battle again on January 9th.
There was some line juggling on the part of Dave Cameron, who moved McCormick up to the Turris line and moved Zack Smith back to centre the third line. Jean-Gabriel Pageau moved up to centre the 2nd line while Mika Zibanejad was demoted to the 4th line, and actually responded nicely to the challenge as he scored the goal that made it 3-2 late in the second. Chris Neil had the "Gordie Howe" on the night as he opened the scoring for Ottawa in the first period and assisted on Zibanejad's marker.
The bottom line is that Ottawa had too many disadvantages and not enough penalty killing defensemen as they had the unlikely combo of Patrick Wiercioch and Erik Karlsson out when one of the Boston power play goals was scored. Jared Cowen, who I though had a decent game in the first part of this home and home, was absolutely dreadful as he continues his "one step forward, two steps back" style that is going to usher himself out of the league before too long.
The Senators gave up their customary 37 shots, and this time Craig Anderson wasn't able to stem the tide. Case closed.
They will have to have short memories because there isn't much time to regroup...
If the Senators can't put last night's fiasco behind them and be ready for the Devils tonight it could mean they are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture for the first time in a while.
The Devils, who did the Senators a favor last night as well by losing to the Carolina Hurricanes by allowing 2 third period goals, sit a single point behind the Senators for the final playoff spot.
It will be Andrew Hammond vs Cory Schenider in net as Keith Kinkaid gave Schneider a rest last night. Hammond will be looking for more support than Craig Anderson got last night as he looks to end a career high 2 game losing streak.
Ottawa's penalty kill has fallen to 29th based on their failure to kill even 50% of the penalties that they took on Tuesday night. Their power play has also fallen below 20% again. The Devils' power play isn't much better, but at least their PK is in the top 10, and that gives them a distinct advantage in special teams.
These are two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum. While the Devils play close to the vest and don't take a lot of chances, the Senators trade opportunities with their opponent. Both clubs are fairly even when it comes to goals for/goals against, but Ottawa games have more than a goal per game more scored.
The Devils get a league-low 25 shots per game while the Senators allow a league high 34.1.
In the first meeting of the season it was the Ottawa style that prevailed, but they ended up blowing a 4-2 third period lead and fell 5-4 in a shootout in late October. Ottawa had fought back to erase Devils leads twice in the game and took what should have been the commanding lead but let it slip away in a game that had 71 shots on goal.
This is a game the Senators desperately need for their confidence as they look ahead to a tough mid-west road trip through Chicago and St. Louis in the New Year to begin a stretch where they will play 7 of 9 away from home. Not only will it keep them in a playoff spot and open up some space between themselves and the Devils, but this is the easiest game on their schedule for the next two weeks after having a month of tough games wrapped in a tough schedule.
Both teams had to play the night before and travel to Ottawa, so there is no excuse and the team that wants it more should come away with 2 points.