Anderson Dazzles, Ottawa Senators Don’t In 3-2 Loss To Panthers

Craig Anderson stood on his head. The rest of the Senators? It was a game to forget for most of them. Ottawa couldn’t get out of their own zone, turnovers everywhere, and just didn’t look like they knew what they were doing. As mentioned earlier, Anderson kept them in it as long as he could, but there’s only so much the goalie can do.

GAME RECAP

The first goal of the game was scored 5 minutes into the first period. A nice passing play was made by David Legwand and Erik Condra when entering the offensive zone. Condra sent the puck to the net, where Chris Neil was planted. Neil put it past Al Montoya to give the Senators the early lead. Not a minute later, the Panthers would tie it up. Dylan Olsen took a shot from the point that would bounce off a couple bodies and past Craig Anderson.

The Senators regained the lead not quite three minutes into the second frame. Most of their powerplay was spent in their own end, as the Panthers had the majority of the chances while short handed. Eventually the Senators got through the neutral zone, on the stick of Neil. Neil’s shot from the slot deflected off of a skate over to Cody Ceci across the zone. Ceci had a wide open net as Montoya had lost sight of the puck.

The Panthers tied the game just 30 seconds into the third. Brad Boyes had the puck behind the net, and sent a pass to Sean Bergenheim in the slot. Bergenheim fired a shot past Anderson. The Panthers extended that lead mid-way through the period. Vincent Trocheck brought the puck into the offensive zone, and was forced to push the puck along with one hand on his stick as Jared Cowen was pressuring him. Trocheck made a one-handed pass through the crease to a streaking Jimmy Hayes, who tapped the pass in.

THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

• Anderson has been solid all season, and last night was no exception. He made some absolutely incredible saves, specifically in the second.
• One of the Senators’ most solid lines of the night was Chris Neil – David Legwand – Erik Condra. I’m not even joking.
• David Legwand is still on the powerplay. So that’s cool. Not.
• What a shame it was to waste this incredible performance by Anderson.

UP NEXT

The Senators take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, their second back-to-back set of the week.