Ottawa Senators Trampled By New York Rangers
The Ottawa Senators faced off against the New York Rangers in what could be the most pivotal game of the season as they were on the losing end by a final score of 5-1. The Senators have 85 points and hold onto the final playoff spot by one point. The Senators came into the game on a seven game winning streak, with their last loss coming against Boston on March 10th. The Rangers came into the game sitting 2nd in the Eastern Conference with an impressive 99 points.
GAME RECAP
The first period saw lots of back and forth play. The scoring came at the 12:38 mark. Derek Stepan hit Chris Kreider with a beautiful stretch pass which lead to a strong shot, beating Andrew Hammond for a goal. The Senators bounced right back to tie the game. Erik Condra had a little chip near centre ice that found the stick of Curtis Lazar. Lazar drove into the Rangers zone and fired a puck by Cam Talbot. The Senators tied the game at the 12:57 mark.
The Rangers bounced right back to go up 2-1. Dan Boyle scored at the 14:40 mark. The goal was set up by some quick skating with assists going to Rick Nash and Chris Kreider. It was a goal in which Andrew Hammond did not have much of a chance. Hammond had to defend the three different options on the goal. The Senators looked strong in the offensive zone, especially the third line. Jean-Gabriele Pageau rung a puck off the post.
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The Rangers went up 3-1 at the 19:00 minute mark. Chris Kreider jammed in a loose puck after a Stefan shot took a strange bounce off Hammond. The Senators came out of the period trailing 3-1, but played a good period. The score was not reflective of the way the game felt. It felt as if the Senators were controlling play at points in the period. The Rangers outshot the Senators 14-11 in the first period.
The Rangers tacked on another goal at the 1:42 mark. Mats Zuccarello scored off assists from Kevin Hayes and Keith Yandle. The Rangers outshot the Senators 6-0 at the halfway mark of the period. At the 10:02 mark Rick Nash picked up a tripping call against Alex Chiasson.
The Senators began their power play and put some pucks on net. When Rick Nash exited the penalty box he picked up another penalty for elbowing Curtis Lazar. The Rangers then went to a five on three after Tanner Glass slashed Mika Zibanejad. The Senators were making that one extra pass on the power play, frustrating the fans. The fans seem disgruntled during the power play. The power plays yielded zero goals.
At the 16:02 mark Tanner Glass picked up his first goal of the season. The period ended with the Rangers winning 5-1, heavily outshooting the Senators 28-15. The Senators pulled Hammond after the Glass goal, putting back up Chris Driedger in net.
The third period saw the Rangers pick up a penalty off a Matt Hunwick delay of game penalty. Ottawa did not score on the resulting power play. Zack Smith and Keith Yandle got into an altercation with both players receiving penalties. The Senators received another power play off a Stepan high sticking penalty. The Senators did not score on the resulting power play. The Senators once again went to the power play after Boyle received a delay of game penalty. The Senators power play unit again yielded nothing.
Driedger looked good saving ten of ten shots in his debut. The game saw the Rangers outshooting the Senators 32-24. The total would have been higher, but the Ranger only registered four shots in the third period. They appeared as if they were just trying to come out of the third period healthy.
NOTES & OBSERVATIONS
- Pageau, Condra, and Lazar looked good tonight. This line continues to impress me. Pageau had a stretch in the third period where he was hitting everything that moved. The third line always seems to have zip and pep when they are on the ice.
- The Senators came out of the first period having played a good period with some unfortunate bounces. It is a shame this game was 3-1 after the first, as the Senators could never really recover from the deficit they faced.
- The “Hamburglar” picked up his first regulation loss. He is now 14-1-1 as the Senators goalie. I did not feel the first two goals were Hammond’s fault. With that being said it is never good to save 17 of 22 shots for a save percentage of .773. Is Hammond hurt? How severely is he hurt? I am not sure. More information will most likely be available in the coming days.
- The Senators power play looked awful as they went 0-6 on the man advantage including a brief 5-3.
- The Senators and Bruins are now tied for the final wild card spot. The Senators got extremely lucky that the Bruins took an overtime loss against the Ducks. Corey Perry scored as the extra attacker to push the contest to overtime. The Ducks then won the game in overtime. The Senators do have a game in hand over the Bruins.
UP NEXT
The Senators play the Toronto Maples Leafs at 7 PM on Saturday. The Senators must win this game if they hope to hold on to the final wild card spot. Every game remaining is a must win. What game has not been in this miracle run? The Senators must put the loss to the Rangers behind them and try to beat the floundering Leafs.