There are times in an NHL season where taking a single point can be acceptable, and even a good thing. Then there are times, such as now for the Ottawa Senators, where a single point is just not enough.
The Senators have found themselves behind the 8-ball in the last few games, and Gustav Nyquist's OT winner sunk the Senators and cost them a chance to gain more ground on the teams they are currently chasing.
Give credit where it is due, and Nyquist holding the puck and circling in the Senators zone for a full 28 seconds was pretty impressive, but Craig Anderson needs to make that save no matter how well he played in the game.
Much like the memorable Kris Letang goal from the playoffs a couple of seasons ago where Jason Spezza took a lot of heat following the stickhandling display by Sidney Crosby, Clarke MacArthur and then Jared Cowen will feel some for their inability to get the puck away from Nyquist. But the fact is, the two Senators who had coverage in Nyquist at different times during that play didn't play him that bad. They kept him to the outside and even the goal that did go in at the end I wouldn't have classified as a legitimate scoring chance.
I will be honest, that my attention was divided between the Senators game and the Team Canada game that was happening at the same time, so I can't get too analytical about this one. From what i did see, the Senators had the advantage of play, but couldn't capitalize on their opportunities.
The Detroit goal that made it 1-1 with just 13 seconds left in the first period was the turning point in my mind, as the Senators had played a pretty solid 20 minutes and looked poised to head to the locker room with a lead. It might not have been a nail in the coffin, but it was certainly a blow for the Senators.
Ottawa's failure with the man advantage (0 for 5) was another major factor in the loss. They had 10 shots on the power play, and couldn't make any of them count.
The Senators out-attempted the Wings 68-47, but Detroit blocked 20 of the Senators shot attempts and the actual shots on goal were just 33-27 in favor of the Senators. Karlsson had 15 shot attempts, with just 6 hitting the net.
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Meanwhile, down the road in Montreal, Team Canada got 3 power play goals, including one each from Curtis Lazar and Connor McDavid, as they beat Germany 4-0. After the statement game against Slovakia on Friday, the scoring at even strength seemed to dry up and there was a shuffling of the lines.
These games are still essentially warmup games, and the real tournament won't start until the New Year's Eve game against the USA. Still, the Canadians have done enough scoring and perhaps even better has been their attention to detail in their own end. Since the 2-1 OT loss to Russia in their first pre-tournament game, the only goal Canada has allowed was the penalty shot goal scored by William Nylander in Ottawa.
Canada faces defending Champion Finland on Monday night, at the same time as the Senators head to Buffalo to face the Sabres, so it will be another picture in picture, or double TV night.