Senators’ Injury Woes Continue In 4-1 Loss to Columbus Blue Jackets
Chabot left with an upper body injury, and you’ll never guess what happened next!
Well, Sens fans, we made it through another game.
It was a bad game. It was not fun to watch. But what else is new?
First Period
The game began with a bit of back-and-forth along the ice, as one might expect from a couple of teams with obvious holes on defense. The first penalty went to Brady Tkachuk, and Anton Forsberg stood on his head on the penalty kill. Unfortunately, right after making the save of the game, Forsberg also shot the puck over the glass, putting his team down by two skaters. Experience Sens hockey!
❌ Nope ❌#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/BwEs3mDoQ4
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 16, 2022
Shots were 9-0 in favour of Columbus after those penalties, because that’s just how Sens games go these days. And yet, the play didn’t feel that lopsided. With a few minutes at even strength, Ottawa got right back into it.
About ten minutes in, Chabot worked some magic in the offensive zone to set up Tyler Ennis for a tip-in. 1-0 Ottawa.
Stick on the ice.
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 17, 2022
Puck in the net.#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/CVLPQIWD1O
They didn’t give up the tying goal off the next faceoff, which is an improvement over recent games, but unfortunately the lead still didn’t last long. Werenski outskated everyone, and Forsberg had no chance. 1-1.
I am entirely confident that neither Zaitsev or Sanford even saw the player wide open beside them. Just staring at the puck slowly drifting towards it. pic.twitter.com/GudtuSFDy8
— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) March 17, 2022
The score held until the first buzzer, and the first period ended in a tie.
Second Period
Several bad things happened at the start of the second period. For one, Thomas Chabot hurt his shoulder in The Corner (you know the one). He tried to keep playing on the next shift, but quickly left the ice in obvious pain. His sudden trip to the bench left Brännström in a difficult spot defending all alone, and the Blue Jackets took advantage to score the go-ahead goal. 2-1 Columbus.
Elite pass. Elite snipe. pic.twitter.com/PjrHghpm7W
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 17, 2022
Being down by a goal without your most valuable player does not sound like a recipe for success, but the players tried their best. The Captain had an especially good shift, with several fantastic scoring chances.
A Senators powerplay resulted in a few good chances for Ottawa, but unfortunately the only notable thing that happened was Tim Stützle hurting his leg crashing into the boards, and briefly going down the tunnel before eventually returning to the bench.
Tkachuk got another good chance and the Sens spent some time in the offensive zone, but the next goal went to the Blue Jackets. Nikita Zaitsev was not doing much “staying at home” on that play. 3-1 Columbus.
Folks, there’s no sugarcoating it: the hockey was bad. This team is bad even with Chabot, and without him, they are very, very bad.
Even the powerplay they got at the end of the period was kind of bad, although I don’t attribute that entirely to Brännström. It was quite simply a bad game.
Third Period
With Chabot officially out with an upper body injury, no one had high hopes for the last twenty minutes of play, and the Sens pretty much delivered what we expected. Tkachuk almost scored a few times, but as a whole, the team could not get out of their own zone.
The lines got real weird in the second half of the frame. Not because of any injuries; the coach was just putting the lines in a blender, at that resulted in a Formenton-Stützle-Watson line.
Toward the end of the game, the Sens pulled Forsberg, and you’ll never guess what happened next! 4-1 Columbus.
Just a bad game during a bad stretch of games. What else is new?
Notable Performances
- What a game for the Captain. Tkachuk was all over the ice in the offensive zone, and had most of Ottawa’s good chances.
- Parker Kelly also brought lots of energy and a few good looks at the net./