Game Report: It’s Over!!! Sens Season Ends With a 3-1 Loss to the B’s

It’s over! The season from hell is finally in the books. Your Ottawa Senators ended their season with a battle with the big, bad Boston Bruins. Looking to end their season on a positive note, Ottawa hoped to win this game for their coach. Widely believed to be his last game behind the bench, the players gave a full 60 minute effort to win it for Clouston. But it was all for not as Clouston and his two assistants were let go after the game.

The first period was a little physical as both teams were throwing around their weight. Boston got on the board first as Daniel Paille finished off a great cycling play by Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton. With Thornton throwing the puck on net, Curtis McElhinney  failed to absorb the puck and left a rebound that Campbell put on Paille’s stick for the easy tip in. But Ottawa responded as Jason Spezza intercepted a clearing attempt and set-up Bobby Butler  in the slot. Butler’s first shot was stopped but he picked up the rebound and buried his tenth of the year. After 20 minutes, the game was knotted up at one.

The second period started with Ryan Shannon  accidentally high sticking Adam Mcquaid  with drew blood and a double minor penalty. Just six seconds into the first powerplay, Nathan Horton notched his 26th goal of the year on a nice spinning back-hand. Half-way through the period, after Horton put the Bruins up by one, he decided he wanted to tussle and found a willing partner in Zach Smith. It was a great fight as both players got in a few punches, and both took a few punches. Check out the fight video courtesy of HockeyFights.com.

With only 20 minutes left in the Senators season, Ottawa threw everything they had at Tim Tomas. But Tomas, who was seeking to set the highest save percentage for a single season, was unbeatable. Rich Peverley put the game out of reach in the third with his 17th of the year. With 13 shots in the period, Ottawa went down with a fight and can say they played a full 60 minutes. The game ended 3-1 as Ottawa will begin their off-season tomorrow.

The Positives

Bobby Butler continued his stellar play as he notched his tenth of the year and his seventh point in his last three games. Playing the most ice time out of all the forwards, Butler’s play in his 36 game NHL stint may have earned him a job here next year.

Jason Spezza  finished the game with one assist and a respectable 57 points in 62 games. Coming back from his injury, Spezza was a changed man and showed that he could dominate games. Next up for Spez is the World Championships where he’ll go for gold.

Stephane Da Costa  played his best game as a Sen today. Playing over 15 minutes on the ice, Da Costa showed hussle and displayed his hockey sense. With a good off-season of training, Da Costa has an outside chance at cracking the roster next year.

The Negatives

Last game of the year, lets forgo the negatives.

Here are the Game Highlights courtesy of NHL.com.

***Three Stars***

First Star: Tim Tomas – made 31 saves and earned a spot in the record books with the highest SV% in a single season.

Second Star: Nathan Horton – had a monster game and was an assist away from the Gordie Howe hat trick.

Third Star: Bobby Butler – notched his tenth of the year and capped off a great rookie campaign.

This marks the end of Ottawa’s 2010-2011 season. It had its highs and many lows. We cried, we laughed, we cheered. It’s going to be a long off-season for Ottawa, but now with a General Manager in place and a vacant coaching seat, it should be an interesting time for a Sens fan. “Til next time, GO SENS GO!!!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading and as always, comments are welcomed.

Can’t get enough of SenShot?  Here are more ways to get the most info about your Ottawa Senators.

You can follow us on Twitter: follow Tony @13thforward and Jared @alfieisgod and Derrick @DerrickvonBrose.

Visit our SenShot Facebook Page. Like us and post comments, photos and videos.

Please visit our NHL Main Page:  Too Many Men On The Site.