2 quick takeaways from Senators' 5-4 loss in Denver against Avalanche
After a 4-0 shutout win on Tuesday night against the Utah Hockey Club and a 6-4 loss on Friday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, tonight was the final game of a three-game West Coast road trip for the Ottawa Senators as they met the Colorado Avalanche in the Mile High City.
The Senators entered the game looking to snap a poor stretch of losing seven of their last eight games against the Avalanche, but the poor stretch continued.
The Avalanche defeated the Senators 5-4 at Ball Arena to drop the Senators to 4-4-0 on the season, and extend their winning streak to five games in a row. The Senators concluded their three-game road trip at 1-2-0.
Catching the red hot Avalanche came at a bad time for the Senators. While they did lose, the Senators showed fight and that they can compete against top teams in the league just like on Friday against the Golden Knights.
2. Offense came alive in the third period and refused to quit
The first two periods of the game went rough for the Senators with Thomas Chabot hitting a post in the second period and Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen stopping all 14 shots on goal by the Senators. In the third period, the Senators showed how deadly their offense can be despite trailing 2-0 to start the period.
After recording no points on Friday night for the first time all season, Brady Tkachuk scored his fourth goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1. Just 2:08 later, Nick Cousins scored his first goal as a Senator in his 600th NHL game to tie the game at two. Cousins also recorded an assist on Tkachuk's goal and Chabot recorded his 200th assist on Cousins' goal.
Now that's how you score your first goal as a Senator 👏#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/7AnKgd1sQP
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 28, 2024
Claude Giroux scored twice to cut the Avalanche lead to 4-3 and 5-4 in the third period. Giroux has now scored in the past three games and now has five goals on the season which is tied for the most on the Senators with Drake Batherson.
Tyler Kleven would also record his first point of the season with an assist on Tkachuk's goal. Even when down and out, the Senators showed how good their offense can be against a top team in the NHL like the Avalanche.
1. The goaltending is back to being the major concern
Linus Ullmark returned to starting in goal on Friday night after missing the four previous games. Ullmark allowed in five goals on Friday against the Golden Knights, so Anton Forsberg would get the start against the Avalanche after Ullmark was considered a game-time decision. Concern about Ullmark not playing for the second consecutive game has grown tremendously.
Forsberg would get his fourth start in the past five games. Forsberg entered with momentum after a 31-save shutout on Tuesday night against Utah.
Against Colorado, momentum wouldn't be continued. Forsberg allowed in a goal with under 10 seconds left in the first period to Nikolai Kovalenko. With Under 20 seconds left in the second period, Forsberg allowed in a brutal goal by Josh Manson as the Avalanche took a 2-0 lead heading into the start of the third period.
Watching this goal is soooo satisfying 🤩#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/s3dEbDlIkO
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 28, 2024
Hope appeared to be back on the Senators' side when Brady Tkachuk and Nick Cousins scored in a 2:08 span to tie the game at two with 8:37 remaining in regulation. In just a blink of an eye, hope was gone.
Logan O'Connor and Ross Colton scored in a 1:32 span to give the Avalanche a 4-2 lead. Claude Giroux gave the Senators another chance of hope by making it a 4-3 game with 3:12 remaining, but Nathan MacKinnon scored an empty-net goal 1:53 later to make it 5-3. Giroux did score again with under 10 seconds left to make it 5-4, but it was too little too late.
Concerns around the Senators' goaltending situation have grown tremendously over the past two games, and it needs to be solved. The loss put the Senators in last place in the Atlantic Division, but the division race is tight.
The Senators will return to action on Tuesday night as they host the St. Louis Blues at Canadian Tire Centre with puck drop at 7 p.m. ET. The Blues currently have a 5-4 record.