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Sorry folks, quick post game blog for today!

With six minutes left in the game this afternoon and Ottawa up 2-0, all seemed great! That's until the NY Rangers erased a 2 goal deficit in a matter of minutes, with a 3 goal barrage to win 3-2. In the process, the Rangers went a cool 4-0 on their 4 game road trip. If you didn't see the game, you are probably asking yourself how did this unfold? Well, Ottawa failed to close out a game, plain and simple. Yes, Sens fans will say there were questionable calls, dumb penalties leading to their demise, or the fact that Nick Paul was stuck in the penalty box for a 5-minute fighting major when they needed him most. But all in all, this loss was self-inflicted. Brady Tkachuk taking too long a shift or Parker Kelly taking a needless penalty to name a few reasons why Ottawa needs to learn to close out games.

Sure it's a very young group of players and hopefully, this group will learn from today's debacle. Nonetheless, there were other contributing factors that led to this meltdown, losing Matt Murray with 4 minutes to go to a head injury sure turned the tables. Anton Forsberg had sat on the bench for almost the entire game, coming in cold to relieve Murray, it sure looked like he wasn't ready, nor can you blame him for this loss.

There were some positives to draw from, it wasn't all negative today as Nick Paul really elevated his game as he played at center on a line with Stutzle and Brown. This line was noticeable all game long. Stutzle was dynamite again, this kid plays with so much poise that he almost tries to do too much sometimes. The sky is the limit for this young man.

Nick Holden continues to impress and has made Josh Brown more confident in the process. It was nice to see DJ Smith reward the proper pair with more ice time as Mete/Zaitsev had the least amount of time on the blueline.

Matt Murray was outstanding until he got injured, he kept his team in the game and was showing why Ottawa gave him that 4-year contract. Fingers crossed his injury isn't long-term.

Josh Norris and Nick Paul both went 10 for 15 in the faceoff circle, which is something Ottawa needed to improve on after the first few games.

The Sens now need to regroup and get ready for the Washington Capitals on Monday night after two straight losses at home, both by one goal.

On a sidenote, Erik Brannstrom was a -3 last night for Belleville in a 4-0 loss to Cleveland. One has to wonder if he's ever going to get his defensive zone coverage together.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Sens ticket contest. I will post the winner tomorrow. As always, thanks for reading.
Kevin

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