Craig Anderson made 43 saves and gave his team every chance to earn at least a point, but in the end the Senators couldn't solve rookie goalie Scott Darling and they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in a game that wasn't as close as the score would indicate.
Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook scored for the Hawks while Milan Michalek was the only Senator who could put one past the debuting Darling.
Here are some random thoughts on the game...
*It was the Senators of old as they allowed too many shots (45) and gave up too many power plays (6) against a quality team. But, pesky as they are, they were still one shot away from earning a point or more.
*That being said, it was a good thing that the team stayed in the game right until the end, with Anderson allowing the chance for his team to get the equalizer, that never came. (Glass Half Full)
*I had a problem with Anderson's play on the Shea Weber goal that ended up being the winner in the season opening game in Nashville, one that not too many people agreed with me on, instead pointing the finger squarely at Jared Cowen. Well, Anderson bit hard on a move by Toews and was once again sliding out of position and unable to get back into the crease in time to stop a Toews wraparound for the game's opening goal. Anderson was great, but that is one goal that should not go in. Its not like Toews pulled a P.K. Subban move and was untouched out front and allowed to deke the goalie out. He never came beyond the goal line, and tucked it home. (Glass Half Empty)
*Marc Methot can't get into the lineup quickly enough. Patrick Wiercioch struggled on Saturday night and I thought that opened the door for Jared Cowen to get another shot after being scratched for 4 straight games. Well, if Cowen doesn't get in for Wiercioch on Tuesday in Columbus then he is not just in the doghouse, he might be buried behind the doghouse, because Wiercioch was bad right from the start. He got walked by Toews early on and seemed to handle the puck like a hand grenade.
* This was really the first game where Kyle Turris went head to head with a top end, grinding centre. Yes, he faced Steven Stamkos in Tampa, but Stamkos isn't the same type of player that Turris will face in most top end Western Conference cities. Toews, Getzlaf, Koptar/Carter are those types and Turris simply does not have the strength to match up with those guys. Thankfully most of them are in the west and he doesn't have to face them often. That re-united top line didn't have a strong game against the Hawks.
* Taking the young legs of Curtis Lazar and Mark Stone out of the lineup was a curious move by Paul MacLean. Colin Greening and Erik Condra were almost invisible except for a couple of shifts in the third period. After sitting so long you would think they would be trying extra hard to make an impression to stay in the lineup, but I just didn't see it. If the Senators are going to make waves this season, they will be better off doing it with their young guys because their upside is so much higher. They might make the odd mistake here and there, but Greening and Condra have hit their ceiling and I would prefer to see the kids developon the fly.
* Cody Ceci continues to impress and has been rock-solid this season. He hasn't done anything spectacular offensively, but his decision-making has been sound and he has been the Senators best defender on most nights. He is going to be a great one, and is getting even better every night. It is too bad he is a right handed shot because he could be the answer to the question of who should play with Karlsson going forward. But with right handed shots at a premium that isn't going to happen.
*It was a tough night for referee Steve Kozari, with his partner going home with the flu or something. After years of using the two-man system, to be thrust into running the show alone was tough. It resulted in a collision with Brad Richards that allowed the Senators to break in on a shorthanded 3 on 1 that ended up in Michalek's goal. There were some iffy calls going both ways, including a penalty shot awarded to Andrew Shaw where the referee was two zones behind the play trying to catch up. Phillips and Wiercioch waved their sticks at Shaw, but neither really should have resulted in a penalty shot.
*Ottawa centres were 13 for 32 in defensive zone faceoffs, part of a brutal night for the likes of Turris, David Legwand and Zack Smith. A bright spot was Mika Zibanejad who was 56% on the night.
So, if you are an optimist, you look at that game as a Senators team playing against one of the elite teams in the league and sticking in the game right to the bitter end despite being outplayed, outworked and outskilled.
If you are a pessimist, you see that the Senators were badly outplayed and were only in the game because of a tremendous performance by Craig Anderson, and offensively were unable to jump on a kid making his first NHL appearance.
So, which one are you?