The Senators come close against Golden Knights, but can’t tie it up in third
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KNIGHTS 3, SENATORS 2
The Ottawa Senators let another one slip away on Thursday night.
They had a better effort but it was the same old result as the club extended its losing streak to four games with a 3-2 decision to the Vegas Golden Knights in front of 16,822 at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Adam Gaudette and Drake Batherson scored for the Senators in the third period, but the club couldn’t get the tying goal as it pushed in the third period.
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Ottawa deserved a better fate, especially when the club outplayed Vegas in the final frame, but this team needs wins because the time for moral victories has long since passed.
“It was a hard-fought game. No doubt about it,” coach Travis Green said. “We threw a lot at them in the third period. We made a couple of mistakes I’d like to have back. It’s a tough loss.”
The Senators came into this game with a 2-9-2 lifetime record against the Knights. Ottawa dropped a 6-4 decision to the Knights on Oct. 25 but did score a 5-4 win over Vegas at home on Feb. 24.
FEUDING GOALIES
The matchup between Linus Ullmark and Ilya Samsonov was interesting.
The two faced off in the first round last spring when Ullmark was in Boston and Samsonov started for the Leafs. Ullmark took a shot at Samsonov while on a podcast.
“I was surprised that (Toronto) kept Samsonov for that many games against us in the playoffs, because every time, I felt at least when we played the Leafs and (Joseph Woll) was in net, it felt like it was more of a challenge,” Ullmark said.
Samsonov responded by going on Instagram and pointing out that Ullmark had dropped to being the No. 10-ranked goalie in the league from No. 6.
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“Keep your — shut or are you injured again?” Samsonov wrote.
Ullmark was on top of his game and making some big stops until Brett Howdon gave his club a 2-0 lead at 10:51 of the second. Howdon took a pass and his shot somehow squeezed its way through Ullmark’s arm. That was unfortunate because up until then the Sens netminder had been on top of his game.
Once it got to 2-0, Ullmark was solid until the Golden Knights pulled out to a 3-1 lead on a goal by Pavel Dorofeyev when he was in alone.
But give Samsonov credit because he helped his club win, especially in the third after Batherson pulled his club to within a goal. Samsonov made 38 stops.
“It was a bit of a step in the right direction,” Ullmark said. “There are some things we have to clean up that we’re going to take a look at.”
A TIPPING POINT
This is a pivotal part of the schedule for the Senators.
The club went into this game with an 8-9-1 record and will hit the quarter mark of the season on Saturday in Vancouver.
Once the Senators wrap up this homestand, the club will play 14 of its next 19 games on the road because of the 2025 IIHF world junior championship being held here in Ottawa.
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That means victories are paramount.
Gaudette finally got the Senators on the board with his eighth of the season at 7:16 of the third on the. power play pulled the club to within a goal and gave Ottawa some life.
“That was a good pushback in the third. That’s what we felt we didn’t have in the last game.” said veteran winger David Perron.
FACING ADVERSITY
Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and GM, told a news conference on Wednesday this club has to do a better job of keeping its composure.
Vegas was coming off a 3-0 loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs only 24 hours earlier and the Senators need to try to push the pace by using their speed.
Green’s message was simple.
“Stick with it,” he said. “Sometimes when you win a couple of games things really get magnified and when you win things also get magnified. That’s playing in a Canadian market.
“There’s a little bit of carryover from years past of here we go again around here. You can only worry about the present, not worry about the past. Control what’s ahead of you, not what’s behind you. Our group still has to learn that. I could feel it when it got to 2-0 tonight.”
The Golden Knights pulled out to a 1-0 lead on the strength of Jack Eichel’s sixth of the campaign. Ivan Barnashev picked up his rebound and fed Eichel alone in front to fire it into a wide-open net.
The Senators came into this game with a 1-8-1 record after giving up the first goal this season and had lost eight straight.
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