Your Ottawa Senators battled the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight as Ottawa hoped to start the second half of the year on the right foot. However, like most nights lately, Ottawa could not generate offense and fell to Tampa 2-1. Suffering their 20th loss of the season, Ottawa is now tied with six other teams for the 2nd most loses in the league. This is also their fifth straight loss in a row where the Sens have been outscored in that stretch 17-7.
Having a 1-0 lead going into the third, Ottawa allowed Tampa to get back into the game early with two unanswered goals before the period was six minutes old. From there, Dwayne Roloson did the rest as he shut the door for the win. Having played better as of late, there were a few positives to take away from the game.
Brian Elliott made 25 saves tonight as he has put together two solid outings in a row. Ottawa gave Elliott no goal support tonight and Elliott did his best to keep Ottawa in the game. However, playing in his ninth straight game, where he is 2-7 in the stretch, Elliott has only won three times in his last 17 starts. He needs to start producing results.
Zach Smith scored his third goal of the year as he was the only Sen to beat Roloson on the night. Playing in his 15th game of the year, Smith now has more goals than Peter Regin, Chris Campoli, Jarko Ruutu, Chris Neil and Filip Kuba. I don’t know if that says more about Smith or the rest of the players.
On the negative side, give-a-ways cost the Sens tonight. Alex Kovalev and Chris Phillips were guilty on the first goal and the Sens failed to clear the puck on the second goal. The powerplay was also a non-factor tonight as the Sens went 0-3.
The Sens also failed to capitalize on their chances. Milan Michalek, Nick Foligno and Chris Campoli all had chances to put Ottawa on the score sheet, but either were stymied by Roloson or missed the net.
Here are the game highlights courtesy of NHL.com.
***Three Stars***
First Star: Dwayne Roloson – was the difference maker with 31 saves tonight.
Second Star: Zach Smith – earns it with a goal tonight.
Third Star: Brian Elliott – earns it with 25 saves tonight and for keeping it close.
The Sens could’ve had this one but they let it slip out of their hands. Having lost five in a row, and with the Northeast leading Bruins on deck, there’s a good chance this streak extends to six games. ‘Til next time, GO SENS GO!!!!!
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