Despite a late push by the Philadelphia Flyers the Ottawa Senators were able to hold on for a 5-4 victory last night. However, the nearly blown lead brings a huge problem into the spotlight.
Going into the game the Ottawa Senators were coning off a game against the Kings where they blew a late lead and lost in a shootout. They nearly had a repeat performance of that last night against the Flyers.
First Period
The first period was one of the best periods by the Sens this season. Dion Phaneuf scored less than two minutes into the game on the powerplay to give the Sens the early lead. On the play both Chlapik and DiDomenico got their first NHL point. Then halfway through the period, Mark Borowiecki scored his first of the season to give the Sens a 2-0 lead. Pageau scored four minutes later to increase the lead to three. The Sens cruised through the rest of the period and the game went to intermission.
Second Period
Coming into the second it was the Sens game to lose. For much of the period it looked like the Sens would have an easy game. However, within one minute near the end of the period the Flyers scored twice to bring the score to within one. Luckily Stone scored with two minutes left to give the Sens a 4-2 lead heading into intermission.
Third Period
The third period came and the Flyers scored and brought the score to within one. However, the goal was overturned as there wasn’t conclusive evidence that the puck crossed the line. The score would remain 4-2 until Tom Pyatt scored halfway through the period to give the Sens a three goal lead. This would be enough to give the Sens the win despite a late push by the Flyers that brought the score to 5-4.
A Habit Giving Up Leads
The story of this game was once again the Ottawa Senators failure to hold a lead. This game would have been a tie if not for a controversial called off goal early in the third/ The Sens have not been able to hold leads all season and it will come back to bite them if they don’t get it under control.
Next: Ottawa Senators Look To Bounce Back Against Flyers
Next Game
The Ottawa Senators play again today against the New Jersey Devils.