Sens outclassed by Kings, lose 6-3
Sens heroes: Mike Fisher, Jonathan Cheechoo
Fisher played like the Mike Fisher we saw earlier in the season, good for two goals and six shots on the night. Jonathan Cheechoo had his best game in a Senators sweater, putting up a goal and six shots, but also drawing two or three penalties through good old fashioned hard work. Cheechoo and his linemates, Chris Kelly and Jarkko Ruutu, were the only Sens players to finish on the positive side of the plus-minus statistic, each at +1.
Sens zeroes: Filip Kuba, Brian Elliott
Kuba simply played soft tonight, not punishing players physically and letting the puck bobble off his stick too frequently. Elliott made some nice stops, but he also let in far too many goals that he could've stopped.
Sens killers: Drew Doughty, Justin Williams
Not to sound like Pierre McGuire or anything, but Doughty played extremely well tonight. Not only was he strong in his own end, but he also put up a rocket of a shot for a powerplay goal. Justin Williams had two goals and an assist on the night.
Telling stat: faceoffs 32-19 Los Angeles
This is starting to be a trend. The Sens have been terrible in the faceoff circle as of late, and tonight was simply awful. Not only did the Senators frequently lose draws, but they lost them at important times when they needed to get goals. Chris Kelly did well with 58% while
did spectacularly at 86%, but Fisher and Spezza need to pick it up.
Did anyone notice: Ryan Keller
Keller has now played four games. I am not sure I've noticed him in any of them, and as a forward, that's not a good thing. I have a feeling he'll be sitting while Foligno returns.
Injury alert: Alex Picard
In the first period, Picard took a clean, hard hit from Dustin Brown on the boards. He went off the ice labouring his arm/shoulder, and did not return. I expect Chris Campoli will be playing against Phoenix with Picard taking some time off.
Penalty woes: The final minutes of the first period; Phillips' dive
In the final three minutes before the first period ended, the Senators had given up a penalty shot (which Wayne Simmonds scored on) and taken three additional minor penalties, including a bizarre one where Anton Volchenkov grabbed the puck out of the air, held on for a few seconds, and then threw it with all of his might. The Senators somehow killed off the 5-on-3s, but their penalty problems didn't stop there. The Sens nearly had a powerplay in the dying minutes while only a goal down as Scott Parse held Chris Phillips' stick, but Phillips ended up getting called on a dive, so the teams played four on four instead.
