Sens Sliding, Drop 6-5 Decision To The Blackhawks

In a game that featured little in the way of defense, the Chicago Blackhawks came out on top. Lifted by a Johnathan Toews hat trick, the Blackhawks came from down 2 to win by a goal after a flurry of third period goals.

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. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Game Recap

1st Period: Ottawa looks a little sloppy in their own end. Thankfully, so does Chicago. Chris Neil gets called for a high stick while falling. Andrew Shaw tips in a point shot 9 seconds into the ensuing power play. Both teams exchange chances. After a Craig Anderson save on a 2-on-1, Ottawa comes back down the ice. Bobby Ryan leaves the puck for Milan Michalek, Milo snipes it past Nikolai Khabibulin.

2nd Period: Clarke MacArthur draws a tripping penalty on Brent Seabrook. Turris scores on a scramble play. Toews passes to Marian Hossa on a 2-on-1, Hossa slips it past Anderson. Ottawa starts getting sustained offensive zone pressure. Joe Corvo blasts one past the Bulin Wall. Mika Zibanejad sends a floater towards the net, which beats Khabibulin. Corey Crawford is sent in to replace the crumbling Wall. Michalek knees Anderson in the head, allowing Toews to score his first of the night on an easy wrap around. Ottawa leads 4-3 after two periods.

3rd Period: Erik Karlsson loses track of Toews, and he easily tips in a back door feed from defenseman Johnny Oduya. Chris Phillips loses his stick, and Kyle Turris can’t hold off Toews as he puts in a rebound for the natural hat trick. Jared Cowen forgets how to defense, and Andy lets out a terrible rebound to let Shaw score his second of the game. Zack Smith scores 15 seconds later, giving Ottawa 5 minutes to tie it up. After a flurry of chances at both ends, the game ends at 6-5 for Chicago. Shots also went to Chicago, 40-37.

Notes & Observations

• Too many defensive zone breakdowns. We’re not going to win a lot of games when we allow 6 goals.
• Solid offensive pressure. Normally we’re not going to lose a lot of games when we score 5 goals.
• Zibanejad should not have spent so much time in the AHL. This is clearly a better team with him than without him.
• 25-15-89 was a huge line tonight. Lots of pressure generated thanks to these 3.

Senshot Player of the Game

Milan Michalek. Tough choice for this game, as most of the offensive guys came to play. But I remember seeing Milo quite a bit last night, and that’s different than most of this season so far. He scored the first one, and assisted on another, but he was playing hard all night. If he keeps this up, our first line will start to dominate.

Up Next

The nightmarish October is finally over for the Senators. Home games versus the New York Islanders and Dallas Stars, followed by a trip to Colombus and then a 5 game homestand. Time to get this team firing on all cylinders.