GAME RECAP: Sens Get Embarrassed At Home 7-2 By The Flyers
By Editorial Staff
Your Ottawa Senators hit the ice last night hoping to get back into the win column after a hard fought Saturday night loss to the Washington Capitals. But the game went as bad as it could have as the Sens suffered another huge defeat on home ice. With the Philadelphia Flyers off to a great start to their year, last night’s game helped a number of Flyers pad their stats as they put up seven goals on the Sens.
First Period
The Flyers got on the board early and often as they scored four goals in the first 20 minutes of the game. Kicking off the scoring was rookie Matt Read who scored on a horrible angle from the goal line on Sens starter Alex Auld. Two minutes later on a goal mouth scramble, Wayne Simmonds was able to find the back of the net for his second of the year. Then, following his trend to allow bad goals, Auld got beat by a Claude Giroux wrister on the far side to put the Flyers up by three. With the period nearing its end, the Flyers newly crowned annoying pest, Max Talbot scored his first in the orange and black. Auld was done after the first as he let four goals on ten shots.
Second Period
The second period was much better for the Sens as they were able to keep the Flyers off the scoreboard. However, they were horrible on the powerplay as they squandered eight minutes of powerplay time, including a two man advantage. Chris Neil dropped the mitts with Matt Walker in a decent fight, but the Sens had trouble getting anything started. With only a minute left in the frame, Ottawa finally got to Philly starter Sergei Bobrovsky as Daniel Alfredsson from a streaking Jason Spezza who tipped in his second of the year.
Third Period
With the game already decided, Philly did not let up on the gas as they poured in three more goals in the final frame. James Van Riemsdyk scored the Flyers third powerplay goal of the game as they went 2-5 with the man advantage. Then a couple of rookies got in on the action and netted their first career NHL goals. Sean Couturier and Harrison Zolnierczyk made the score 6-1 and 7-1 respectively as both had a great game. Erik Karlsson scored his first of the season as he scored with 20 seconds left in the game. The final was an ugly 7-2 home loss for Ottawa.
+ The Pluses +
There were no positives from this game. With their second game with seven goals allowed, Ottawa may not see many positives if they continue to play like they currently are.
– The Minuses –
Alex Auld was probably the biggest zero for the Sens last night. With the opportunity to earn himself some more playing time, Auld put the Sens in a deep hole early and made coach MacLean look foolish for deciding to go with him over Anderson.
Stephane Da Costa only played 7:57 minutes and had 11 shifts. His early season spark seems to be gone as he will probably be sent to the minors when Jesse Winchester is healthy enough to return.
There are many more negatives, but these two are some of the more glaring negatives from the game. In the end, the whole team should be ashamed of their play last night.
Game Highlights
Check out the Game Highlights courtesy of NHL.com.
***Three Stars***
1st Star* MATT READ earns it with a goal and three assists for the undrafted rookie.
2nd Star** SEAN COUTERIER had a good game with a goal and an assist as he played with a chip on his shoulder, probably for the Sens skipping him in the draft.
3rd Star*** SERGEI BOBROVSKY had a great game as the Philly back-up shut the door every time the Sens began to build momentum. He made 21 saves for his first win of the year.
This was an ugly game to watch. The Sens could not do anything on the ice and looked like an minor league squad. Sitting in the Eastern Conference basement, the Sens now have allowed more goals then the rest of the league. With their next game versus the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night, the Sens will have a quick turn around and will hope to not allow seven goals on Thursday night at home. “Til next time Sens Army, GO SENS GO!!!
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