With the window of opportunity continuing to close for the Ottawa Senators, Thursday night's tilt against the New York Rangers was crucial. They came out flying and played their best hockey in over a month, yet the results were still the same - a stinging 5-3 loss to the Broadway Blueshirts.
The game started off with a bang, both figuratively and literally. Michael Rozsival was sent to the box early after high-sticking Daniel Alfredsson, and the league's 12th best power play converted after a brutal clearing attempt by Michael Sauer of the Blueshirts. He tried flipping the puck out from the end boards, but it wound up ten feet in front of Henrik Lundqvist on the stick of a wide open Nick Foligno, and after an inital save by Lundqvist, Foligno centered the pass back to Mike Fisher and watched #12 bang it home for an early lead.
Ottawa couldn't hold the lead for very long, though, as the New York Rangers counterattack after a brief Senators possession evened the game up at one. After gaining the zone, Marian Gaborik threaded a pass between the skates of Sergei Gonchar to a streaking Derek Stepan, who beat Brian Elliott clean on a nice move.
The frenetic play was briefly interrupted by a scrap between Matt Carkner and Derek Boogaard, and Carkner actually held his own. Must've taken a few mental notes after the poundings he got from Colton Orr last year, because he stunned the Boogie Man with two separate jabs. Carkner earned himself a ten minute misconduct after the fight for flicking blood on the Rangers bench, and he'll probably face a fine and suspension in the next couple of days. Video below:
Ottawa started the second period off on the power-play and again converted, showing why they're one of the better teams on the man advantage in the NHL. This time, it was Jason Spezza, who blew a shot past Henrik Lundqvist after the Rangers netminder had fallen to the ground. Credit Erik Karlsson here for not panicking and taking a tough shot, opting for the extra pass and subsequent score.
Once again, though, the Senators failed to hold the lead for long, as Ruslan Fedotenko became the most recent beneficiary of a beautiful feed via Marian Gaborik. The Senators had cheated death just seconds earlier after Michael Rozsival rang one off the bar, but karma fought back, and Fedotenko slipped the wrister by Elliott to tie the game.
Mike Fisher looked to grab hold of a lead just minutes later after an absolute laser from about fifteen out, but the puck hit the crossbar and then the post before trickling out. The referee originally ruled that the puck had crossed the line, but upon further review, Fisher's shot never crossed the plane, and the goal was taken off the board. An unfortunate break for Ottawa, but the right call was made at the end of it all.
As I alluded to earlier, hockey karma has a funny way of working itself out, and midway through the second period, Mike Fisher scored on a breakaway goal. After avoiding a takedown by Steve Eminger, Fisher beat the unsuspecting Henrik Lundqvist for his second goal of the night. Going to be tough knowing that a hat trick was a mere inch away, but nevertheless, a strong performance by MF on the night.
Erik Christensen tied the game up at three at the start of the third period in one of the uglier goals of the year on Brian Elliott, and you have to figure Cory Clouston was a bit upset with his 'tender. Christensen took a shot from a horrible angle just to get the puck on net, but Elliott hadn't covered the entire strong-side up and the puck found a hole between the body and the pipe.
After Chris Neil was assessed a bad charging penalty, the Senators failed to kill off Rangers power play as they had three times previously. Michael Sauer was left uncontested just inside of the blueline and made the most of it, beating Brian Elliott clean. For Sauer, it was his first career NHL goal.
The penalty was especially brutal because it was late in the third period, a spot where teams tend to ease up and grab that automatic point for OT. Not only was it bad timing, but it was a bad play - there was literally no need for Neil to make a run on a player like that, and it pretty much reinforces everyone's belief that the Neil/Ruutu tandem is worthless these days.
New York tallied the empty netter via Brandon Dubinsky, after Sergei Gonchar decided to blow a tire and flail on the ice helplessly. Tough, tough loss.
Closing Thoughts
Did you enjoy that? For positives, that felt like an actual hockey game. The Senators played some of their best hockey this season in the first forty/fifty minutes, and they were just a play away from beating the Rangers on home ice.
With that said, bad teams find ways to lose, and Ottawa did just that tonight. Brian Elliott was pretty bad, and I don't think we'll see him tomorrow or for the next few games. The Erik Christensen goal was absolutely inexcusable - a shot from the corner that looked like a wasted possession turning into a goal is just gut-wrenching. He didn't make any big saves, and while he's been solid for Ottawa this season, this was certainly a lowlight.
That brings us to Chris Neil, who should be already scratched for tomorrow night's game against the New Jersey Devils. What a completely boneheaded and useless penalty to take with just minutes left in the hockey game, but that's been par for the course between Neil and Ruutu this season. Bad play, bad decision making, and bad results. Chris Kelly certainly deserves better, even if this line was effective at the beginning of the season.
Good to see Mike Fisher have a breakout game, and he was a goal-review and a mind-blowing Henrik Lundqvist save away from a four goal night. Certainly didn't look like the player we alleged was playing banged up for so long, but let's see if it lasts.
And most importantly of all, the Senators perfect record of 10-0-0 when leading heading into the third period is now a bit more crooked. The third period woes continue for this team - I've continued to mention how they're by far the league's worst in the final twenty, and another bad effort tonight has pretty much turned my theory into fact. -3, for those counting, which puts them at an especially laughable -20 on the year in the third.
Ottawa won't have time to dwell on the loss, as they'll play host to the New Jersey Devils on Friday night. I fully expect this team to come out and dominate through the first forty minutes before surrendering an eight-goal lead and leaving Scotiabank pointless again.
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