The Ottawa Senators were being dominated in every aspects of the game, except maybe for a few minutes here and there but for the most part this was a Montreal Canadiens clinic. The entire night Ben Bishop showed everyone just why he was named 3rd star of the week, many times he made save after save. He also showed tonight why he should be considered for a number one job.
Feb 25, 2013; Ottawa, ON, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing
Brian Gionta(21) jumps to clear the puck on a shot against Ottawa Senators goalie
Ben Bishop(30) in the first period at Scotiabank Place. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
GAME RECAP
Had it not been for Bishop the score would have never been 0-0 after one. The Montreal Canadiens could have easily been up by at least 2 after 20 minutes, but it was the big goaltender that kept the Sens in it. The second period started off just like the first ended, domination by the Habs. But it was the Sens that opened up the scoring from a Karlsson-esque pass from Chris Neil that sent David Dziurzynski in for a clean shot at the Montreal net and he didn’t miss, scoring on a beautiful shot, giving the home team a 1-0 lead. But the Sens just couldn’t hold off the Habs play for the whole game paying for it with 3 seconds remaining in the 2nd period courtesy of a Andrei Markov shot, the Habs 30th of the game.
The 3rd period was the period of missed chances. Just like the other periods it was the Habs playing better than the Senators. It was as if the Sens knew they were lucky to even get a goal and was just trying to get a minimum of one point. Once again Bishop was the difference in this period. After Marc Methot took an interference penalty near the end of the 3rd period, it looked like Montreal may take advantage of the power play but it was Erik Condra, in what may be the best effort I’ve seen all season on the penalty kill, that drew a tripping penalty on P.K. Subban. Overtime began with 4 on 4 play, then about 30 seconds in the Sens finally started their first power play of the game. To ruin this chance Kyle Turris decides to hook Raphael Diaz which gave the Habs a late power play. It was Bishop almost single handedly that killed the overtime penalty, as Montreal was dominating. To end the extra period Peter Regin rang one off the post, and we were off to yet another shootout!
Scoring Summary:
1st period:
- None
2nd period:
- PPG – Andrei MArkov from Raphael Diaz and Max Pacioretty
3rd period
- None
Shootout:
- Peter Regin shootout winner
OBSERVATIONS
- Ben Bishop definitely showed he’s capable of being more than just a backup, stealing 2 points. He tied Brian Elliott for a franchise record 44 save win at home.
- This also marked only the 2nd time the Sens have swept a home stretch of a minimum of 4 games.
- The Sens didn’t come to play, only players that played decent were Chris Neil and Erik Condra.
- Jakob Silfverberg keeps up with his strong showing in the shootout, he is now 3 for 3
SENSHOT’S PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ben Bishop, is pretty much all I need to say. He stole this game period. Had it not been for him and a great pas from Chris Neil , the Sens would be leaving for a road trip with zero points in their last game of their home stand. But that wasn’t the case , the Sens won every game of the home stand with this injury riddled line up. After Bishop’s play of late, it is hard to believe Robin Lehner will even play anytime soon, seeing as the Sens do not play a back to back until March 16th-17th and you would hope Craig Anderson would be back by then!
UP NEXT
The Ottawa Senators will go visit a very good team in Boston on Thursday night. Not only will this be a tough game due to the fact that the Bruins are a great team but also due to the injuries the Sens have sustained this month. This will definitely be a test for the Ottawa Senators. Game is on Thursday in Boston will be broadcast on Sportsnet East and Team 1200.