Happy Hockey Day in Canada! As February nears its end, I hope you take time to give thanks for all the manufactured holidays the month has brought us. Valentine's Day, Family Day, Hockey Day, perhaps someday Neighbours Day and Person I Met in the Tim's Line Day. The possibilities are endless. I am going to agree with Steve Warne and humbly ask why we must have 4,729 February holidays, but we can't build a day off into June.
I thought Jarkko Ruutu summed up the afternoon's events well during a 2nd intermission interview with the CBC's Jeff Marek. Ruutu stated that the Senators made too many mistakes and gave the Canadiens goals. An apt appraisal of what was a lacklustre performance. The Sens were, for the second time in as many games, poor in their defensive zone, leaving attackers uncovered and thus digging themselves a hole that proved too deep to allow for escape.
Ottawa gave the enigmatic Alexei Kovalev a lot of space in the first period, allowing him to feed an open Tomas Plekanec for a goal. Kovalev also skated past Anton Volchenkov unmolested to give Les Glorieux a 2-0 advantage. To be fair, Ottawa's gamble made sense, as there was a 50% chance Kovalev was just out for some leisurely exercise before shooting a commercial.
Ottawa countered with two of their own in the middle stanza, creating an enthusiasm tapered only by the fact they surrendered an additional three, essentially taking the Senators out of contention in this one.
Mathieu Schneider scored Montreal's third goal off a bullet from the point that beat a screened Brian Elliott, chasing Elliott from the net. The rookie is going through a tough stretch, allowing 10 goals in his last 5 periods of hockey. Alex Auld did not provide the spark that coach Cory Clouston was looking for, as Ottawa's coverage lapses persisted.
Give the club credit for battling through to the end though, as they peppered Jaro Halak with shots whilst trailing by three. The Ottawas threw the puck at Halak 46 times in this one, including an astounding 21 in the third, a figure aided by three 5-on-3 advantages. The Sens kept up good offensive pressure, but were unable to close the substantial gap they had created for themselves.
Bryan Murray's new acquisitions made their debut in this one. Offensive defenceman Chris Campoli came as advertised. He had a 2-point afternoon, recording second assists on both of Ottawa's second-period goals. Both assists were legitimate contributions to the goal rather than fortuitous statistical anomalies. Campoli's first assist was a pass that created a scoring chance for Jesse Winchester, which created the rebound that led to Jarkko Ruutu's goal off a bad angle shot. The second was a pass to Jason Spezza that allowed for another shot, with the rebound benefiting Dany Heatley this time. Nothing overly fancy, but a fine start none the less.
Bryan Murray's new acquisitions made their debut in this one. Offensive defenceman Chris Campoli came as advertised. He had a 2-point afternoon, recording second assists on both of Ottawa's second-period goals. Both assists were legitimate contributions to the goal rather than fortuitous statistical anomalies. Campoli's first assist was a pass that created a scoring chance for Jesse Winchester, which created the rebound that led to Jarkko Ruutu's goal off a bad angle shot. The second was a pass to Jason Spezza that allowed for another shot, with the rebound benefiting Dany Heatley this time. Nothing overly fancy, but a fine start none the less.Returning Senator Mike Comrie was less visible. Comrie skated well, and was often present around the crease, quietly registering 5 shots, but did not compile much in the way of quality scoring opportunities. Hopefully Comrie will be more involved in the team's upcoming games.
Dany Heatley had numerous opportunities in addition to those that led to his two goals. Heatley played his role and did what he does best: create and capitalize on scoring chances. Dany Boy could have had the opener had his stick been at a better angle, as a pass ricocheted off his blade and out of the zone during the first period. The man whose teammates call him Heater had several other close calls. Heatley was particularly useful on the powerplay, where he parked himself in key scoring areas and plied his trade. Heatley finished with 7 shots and 22:36 in ice time.
After winning five straight, the Senators have played two games where they give up a substantial number of unanswered goals and then try to play catch-up. The Sens are also lacking the sense of urgency and energy level that was present on their successful road trip. If the Sens want to keep their playoff delusions intact, these bad habits will have to be beaten like they're Rihanna (too soon?)
The sens get a chance to shake off the doldrums on Tuesday when they host the Hurricanes of Tobacco Row. Until then, enjoy the rest of Hockey Day. I hear some fellow named Mats might be playing tonight in Toronto. Hopefully the media will bring us up to speed on this woefully neglected story.
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