Late comeback not enough as Senators fall 3-2 to Flames
Although the Ottawa Senators mounted a great offensive push in the last half of the third period, it was another story of too little coming too late as they lost 3-2 to the Calgary Flames. Ottawa had plenty of opportunities to get rolling, including two powerplays in the first and four more in the second, but got nothing. They finished 0-for-6 with the man advantage and just couldn't get any good, consistent pressure on the Flames defence or many high-quality shots on Flames goalie Henrik Karlsson.
A second-period outburst, featuring two goals from David Moss (seriously) only 2:23 apart, put the Flames up by three goals after 40 minutes. Without much response, it looked like the Senators had pretty much given up, but Nick Foligno scored just before the mid-way mark of the second to give Ottawa some momentum, and a very impressive show of speed from Milan Michalek made things interesting by bringing the Sens within one, but they couldn't complete the comeback.
Sens Hero: Milan Michalek
Ottawa's lone hero tonight, Michalek put forward another great effort tonight. It looks like he's one of few players, along with Jesse Winchester, responding to the absence of Jason Spezza and Alex Kovalev by stepping up and actually putting forth an extraordinary effort. One great piece of news is that it looks like Michalek has found his speed again; without it, he's not much of anything, but with it, he can be a very effective offensive weapon.
Sens Zero: Sergei Gonchar
After playing one of his best games as a Senator last game, Gonchar played what was likely one of his worst against the Flames on Friday. He only finished -1, but was culpable on the first two goals the Flames scored. He threw a lot of rubber towards the net, but his role in those two goals-against and his four giveaways did not make him look very good.
Sens Zero: Powerplay
This thing is awful these days. Missing Spezza and Kovalev isn't helping the situation, but after going 6-0 against the Flames the PP is now 0-for-15 over the last four games. You have to expect Erik Karlsson, Sergei Gonchar, Mike Fisher, and Daniel Alfredsson should be able to do something, but they haven't so far.
Sens Killer: David Moss
I don't know what our great city ever did to this guy, but he plays his best hockey in Ottawa. His two goals tonight give him five in four career games against the Sens, which is just baffling. More than one-tenth of his career goals have come against the Senators.
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