Costly giveaway leads Senators to 4-3 OT loss to Blue Jackets
For the first half of the game, it looked like Ottawa Senators fans might be waiting a long time before seeing the Ottawa Senators put together anything resembling effective offence. But one Mike Fisher goal and a huge momentum swing late in the second period set the Sens up for a late-game comeback against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the team overcame a 3-0 deficit to send the game in overtime before giving up the game-winning goal.
Although it took almost 40 minutes for the Sens to score, a bit of bad luck factored into that. The team hit another two posts in Friday night's game, meaning they've hit the iron five times in the last two games. But there were also some terrible turnovers that ended up costing the Sens big time, including a brutal giveaway by Chris Phillips that put Ottawa down 2-0, and Alex Kovalev's deflection of the puck right into the slot in overtime. If the Spezza-less Senators are going to start winning games consistently, they're going to have to play virtually perfect defensive games, get some luck, and keep peppering goaltenders the way they did tonight.
Great debut: Jim O`Brien
Personally, I thought it was a great NHL debut for Ottawa's 2007 NHL draft pick. He may have only played 6:57 in the game, but he had what was probably Ottawa's best scoring chance in the first period. I can give him perhaps the highest praise you can give a kid in his situation: He looked like he belonged in the NHL.
Sens Hero: Daniel Alfredsson
Alfie had a game-high six shots on goal, leading the way for the team, and he scored the game-tying goal with barely a minute left in the third period. It looks like the captain's slowed down this season, but you can't say he doesn't come out with some of his characteristic heroics when the going gets tough.
Not a bad game: Alex Kovalev
Although the giveaway that cost the team the game will be what people remember--and I'll agree that his lack of urgency is concerning, considering the game was on the line--Kovalev didn't have a terrible game against Columbus. He had three shots on net, plus one that hit the post dead-on, and assisted on Alfredsson's game-tying goal. He also played some pretty decent defence earlier in the game.
Shot chart:
Game highlights:
