The Ottawa Senators continue their winless calendar year with yet another loss, this time at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres. This 5-3 defeat at KeyBank Center means the Sens have lost all five games on their road trip, with their last win being against the Sabres on New Year’s Eve. Since then, the Sabres seem to have learned their lesson in what was another disappointing effort for the Senators.
Injuries Piling Up
The Senators were fortunate enough to have Mathieu Joseph re-enter the lineup in their 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames. He brings a lot of much-needed energy to a Senators team that seems to have very little signs of life recently. Josh Norris exited that same game after taking an awkward tumble on the ice, so they knew they’d be without him in this game. However, I don’t think they were prepared for more losses.
In the final moments of the first period, rookie Zach Benson drove the net and delivered a nicely elevated one-handed shot. It’s the kind of attempt that would make next morning’s highlight reel had it gone in. While that was cool, it wasn’t the biggest thing that happened on that play. While trying to make the save, Anton Forsberg sustained an apparent lower-body injury and left the game. When Joonas Korpisalo came into the game, things went downhill.
Although goaltending hasn’t been a strong point for the Sens, losing Forsberg is another blow the team doesn’t need right now. Perhaps they could give Andrew Hammond a call. That would be nice from a nostalgic point of view, but there’s already a realistically good candidate to replace him. Mads Sogaard, who’s one of many prospects having a solid season in the American Hockey League (AHL), could be the one to fill in during Forsberg’s absence.
Rinse and Repeat
With the losses piling up for the 14-23-0 Senators, these articles are becoming redundant. Not only were the same routine mistakes highlighted throughout the game, but the players seemed disengaged as soon as J.J. Peterka found the back of the net on a 2-on-1 at the beginning of the first period.
The team’s poor defensive play was once again on display and Tage Thompson took advantage of that. He had all the time in the world to shoot the puck and score not once, but twice to give his team a 3-1 lead heading into the second period. We would expect the Senators to make a push right after this first period, but that wasn’t the case. Sabres players were first on the puck and stayed aggressive enough to force Senators players into turnovers. This eventually helped Peyton Krebs score off another odd-man rush to make it 4-1 Sabres at the end of the second.
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Overall, this was just another frustrating effort by the Sens. To add to the pain, they only played the way they should’ve started playing when the third period came around. In other words, when it was too late (again). At least they had a player that stood out.
Leading by Example
It’s hard to acknowledge strong performances by a Sens player in this game. However, it would be unfair to Claude Giroux if I didn’t mention how much of an impact he had on his team.
At the beginning of the third period, Giroux’s backhand shot beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after a Sabres turnover in front of the net. Later towards the end of the third period, he got his second goal of the game after blasting a slap shot from the top of the face-off circle following good pressure from the Senators. These offensive contributions were great, but weren’t the main reason he stood out.
Giroux wanted to win and truly seemed hungry for it. He showed it on the ice and pushed his teammates to work hard. I think his leadership sparked a fire under the Senators as it almost helped them attain the comeback that was eventually spoiled by a Dylan Cozens empty net goal. The team altogether showed their frustrations all game, but Giroux was at the centre of it. It was refreshing to see some emotions from a leader on the team despite the loss. Maybe it could be a starting point.
Shark Tank
It’s becoming more and more rare that the Senators face teams lower than them in the standings. However, it will be the case on Saturday night when the San Jose Sharks visit the Canadian Tire Centre late in the afternoon. Mentally, the Senators should treat their return home as a reset button to avoid an embarrassing result against the Sharks. They’ve lost a lot of confidence on the road, so this should be the opportunity to get it back.
