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HABS 5, SENATORS 2

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It had been a fortnight since we had seen the Ottawa Senators.

But nobody missed performances like this.

The Senators picked up right where they left off before the National Hockey League’s two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break by extending their losing streak to four straight with an ugly 5-2 defeat against the arch-rival Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

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Only Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson were able to beat Habs goalie Sam Montembeault, while Senators top goalie Linus Ullmark finished the night on the bench after being replaced by Anton Forsberg in front of 18,842 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

The challenge became more difficult earlier in the day when the Senators learned they would be without captain Brady Tkachuk because of an injury he suffered last Monday while playing for Team USA against Sweden in the 4 Nations, but that was no excuse.

Coach Travis Green had no update on Tkachuk post-game but did say he’s dealing with an injury.

“Every game matters and every point,” Sanderson said. “The standings are so tight. We have to have that next-game mentality. It doesn’t matter what you do. Keep going and put your head down.”

They weren’t good enough and were beaten in every aspect of the game by the Habs, who were faster, quicker and more physical.

ULLMARK MAKES HIS RETURN

Ullmark made his first start at home since he was pressed into duty at the last minute against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 14.

The Senators need Ullmark at the top of his game.

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That wasn’t the case in this one. He was pulled after giving up five goals on 15 shots. A goal by Juraj Slafkovsky that beat Ullmark through the five-hole at 11:32 of the second was all head coach Travis Green could take.

Ullmark didn’t look good on Josh Anderson’s effort at 5:14 of the second period, either. Hockey Night in Canada said it was the first time since November 2022, when he was with the Boston Bruins, that Ullmark has been pulled from a game he started.

He missed six weeks with a back injury on Dec. 22 in the first period of a road game against the Edmonton Oilers. He didn’t return until Feb. 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, also on the road.

Ullmark appeared in two games before the break and lost both. He came into this game with a 3-2-0 record along with a 2.86 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage in six career appearances against the Habs.

“We turned the puck over too much,” said Stutzle. “It was just not a good game. There are 25 more games to go. We wanted to play our best every night but we didn’t get the result we wanted.

“It’s really disappointing. We just weren’t sharp enough.”

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FRANTIC FIRST

Both teams combined for five goals in the first period.

The Senators erased a two-goal deficit to tie it up 2-2, but allowed Patrik Laine to fire a blast by Ullmark 19 seconds later on a power play to give the Habs a 3-2 lead.

Stutzle tied it up briefly with a great individual effort, picking up a loose puck at the Ottawa blue-line, skating by Montreal defenceman Mike Matheson and holding onto the puck long enough to beat Montembeault at 15:54.

Sanderson got Ottawa on the board with a perfect shot from the slot on the power play that Montembeault, who was screened, had no chance on at 13:20.

Goals by Cole Caufield and Brendan Gallagher gave the Habs a 2-0 lead only 4:28 into the game. Caufield picked up a rebound in the slot and one-timed it by Ullmark on the stick side.

A terrible giveaway by Drake Batherson allowed the Habs to open the scoring at 2:28. Batherson’s failed pass attempt landed on Brendan Gallagher’s stick and he fired a blast by Ullmark.

“Rusty,” Green said. “We weren’t very good with the puck. It wasn’t a very pretty game.”

CHALLENGE AHEAD

The Senators have 25 games left and only 10 are on the road.

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They will play five games before the NHL trade deadline on March 7 at 3 p.m. ET. Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, has decisions to make between now and then.

The Senators would like to add before the deadline, but they also need to get healthy.

The Senators weren’t only missing Tkachuk on Saturday as forwards Shane Pinto and Josh Norris also missed this one. Those three players had combined for 42 goals.

You need others to step up, though.

Forward Ridly Greig did try to fire up the bench in the third period by dropping the gloves for a fight with Slafkovsky, but the issue had been settled by then.

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