While They May Take On Pleasing Forms, Sens Still Themselves: New Jersey 4; Ottawa 1

Out-shot, out-chanced, out-goaltended, and all together outplayed, the Ottawa Senators dropped a contest with the New Jersey Devils for the third time this season. While the Senators had their chances, the Devils were the better team on this night and reaped the spoils that follow. As was the case the last time the Sens played Jersey, their play was not terribly bad, but they were simply not able to find a way to get the two points against a superior opponent. The Ottawas, as Craig Hartsburg mentions below, were plagued by their inability to play a full 60 minutes, as they seemed to go to sleep in the final frame.

Ottawa had a number of scoring chances, but only managed to beat Scott Clemmensen once on an Alex Picard one-timer that came on the man-advantage (though they did hit a post as well.) I found Clemmensen to be the superior netminder on the night, which is not intended to be a knock on Brian Elliott. The Sens had some quality chances in the first two periods, and Clemmensen shut the door. Elliott had his moments in the game, making a very noticeable glove save in the second period - the result of a self-inflicted rush he created with an errant stretch pass that led to a turnover. However, the rookie tender also allowed a shaky goal or two. Personally, I would like to see more poise and consistency from Elliott, and that may come as he adjusts to life in the NHL.

For me, the Sens were dead in the water when they failed to sustain any meaningful pressure on their third period four minute power play, courtesy of the dastardly Brendan Shanahan's malicious high stick on our lord and saviour Daniel Alfredsson. While Our Father Who Art in Kanata was sitting on the bench with gauze in his lip, his teammates were the victims of a schoolyard-style game of keep away, with the New Jersey Devils playing the role of older, taller, cretinous bullies. Down two goals, Ottawa needed to use that opportunity to get back into this game by either scoring a goal or gaining some momentum. They accomplished neither, not even registering a shot, and the remainder of the match was nothing more than a figurative whimper.

The Senators will likely silence the Over the Edgers who, being incapable of seeing more than 3 days into the past, espoused renewed optimism towards Ottawa's prospects of a playoff push. The Sens will get a chance to pick up some more points Thursday and Friday, when they face fellow doormats the St. Louis Blues before travelling to the capital of the buckeye state to take on the newly plucky Columbus Blue Jackets.

Notes:

1) I was surprised that Craig Hartsburg drew Jason Smith out of the line-up, though not mystified. Ottawa is looking more and more like they are evaluating what they have in terms of assets with an eye on next season, and Smith doesn't seem to be a piece that fits into the overall puzzle going forward. The club appears to be looking to strike a balance of four offensive defencemen and two stay at home guys; That is to say, the ratio they dressed back when they still won playoff games. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays itself out over the next few weeks. I'd wager Smith will find himself back in the line-up before too long, likely at the expense of Brendan Bell.

2) Martin Gerber has been sent back to Binghamton for the time being. I have a hard time believing Gerber will find a new home in the NHL given his contract and inability to perform reliably even in short spurts. While Gerber would help the Baby Sens stay in contention in the AHL's Eastern Conference, the logical move for the organization is a return to Europe. Eugene Melnyk is probably about as keen to eat Gerber's salary in the minors as he is to share Frank Clair Stadium with Ottawa's 409th CFL franchise. Moreover, the front office needs to decide what they have in Jeff Glass as a deep draft approaches. The best way to do that is to let the man play regularly.