Game Recap: Senators Blanked by Blackhawks

Senators struggle mightily against rebuilding Blackhawks, 5-0

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Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock made 35 saves for his 2nd shutout of the season, while Senators netminder Mads Søgaard allowed 5 goals on 21 shots.

First Period

Philipp Kurashev opened the scoring at 16:22 of the opening frame, toe-dragging past Jake Sanderson and firing a rocket past the outstretched glove of Mads Søgaard. Jarred Tinordi would pick up the lone assist on the even-strength marker.

Despite outshooting the Blackhawks 12-3 in the first period, the Senators trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes.

Second Period

The wheels would start to fall off for the visiting Sens in the middle frame, with Seth Jones finding the back of the net twice in the opening 5 minutes. The second of which was a bullet over the shoulder of Søgaard to give the Blackhawks a commanding 3-0 lead just 25 minutes in.

Jason Dickinson would add another to the Blackhawks’ cause at 10:31 of the second period from the slot, assisted by MacKenzie Entwistle and Anders Bjork.

Just prior to the end of the second period, Brady Tkachuk would decide to make his mark on the game from a physical aspect, dropping the gloves with willing combatant Jarred Tinordi in a spirited tilt:

The fight may have been the only thing the Senators won all day, once again despite the scoreboard, the visitors were up on the shot clock 15-11 in the middle frame.

Third Period

The Senators entered the final frame trying to break Alex Stalock’s goose egg, however, the home team was the only team adding to their cause, with rookie Lukas Reichel adding a 5th marker with just 3 minutes left, assisted by Andreas Athanasiou.

There were some fireworks late in the game as Brady Tkachuk, Mark Kastelic, and Auston Watson were all handed out 10-minute misconducts for causing a disturbance near the Blackhawks bench, with evident frustration on the faces of the entire Senators team.

The game ended in a well-deserved 5-0 victory for the Chicago Blackhawks, as they were clearly the more prepared and opportunistic team on the ice. Despite outshooting the Blackhawks 35-21, the effort by the Senators was one of their worst on the season.