Tired Senators lose 1-0 in Carolina to the Hurricanes

I am sure the Senators won't use being tired as an excuse, but I will. It's been a long stretch of games, and it won't get any easier, but tonight the Senators just seemed to be a little bit on the tired side. The Hurricanes on the other hand hadn't played since Monday. Carolina got on the board early after some beautiful work by Alexander Semin, with his shot being tipped in by Eric Staal. The Hurricanes would dominate the first period, outshooting the Senators 15-7 after 20 minutes.

Ottawa had a great opportunity to tie the game when Chris Neil was hit with a high-stick. On the resulting four minute power play, Kyle Turris hit the post but Ottawa could not convert. It was a more even period and Ottawa would outshoot Carolina 11-7. Craig Anderson would also play his part, shutting the door and keeping it a 1-goal game.

In the third period, the Senators would get a few more chances to tie it. Sergei Gonchar had a glorious opportunity in the slot. Kyle Turris also had a great chance that was well saved by Ellis. In the end though, Ottawa just seemed like a tired club and couldn't muster enough to tie the game.

With the loss, Ottawa drops to 5-2-1 on the season. Their next game is on Super Bowl Sunday at 2:00 against the Canadiens.

Sens Hero: Craig Anderson
For the seventh consecutive game, Anderson held the opposition to two goals or less. Carolina had 35 shots and Anderson stopped 34 of them. His save percentage on the season is now 96.8.

There weren't any players that had a particularly bad game warranting a zero status. It was one of those games where the players were trying, but it just wasn't happening for them.

Others notes

• Erik Karlsson had a frustrating night. Without Jason Spezza, Karlsson had to try and make things happen. Unfortunately he wasn't able to make them happen. However, without Karlsson, the Senators would have struggled to gain the offensive zone with any degree of success. He played 29 minutes and had four shots, but also turned it over a few times. He averages 27:26 of ice time per game, which is 5th in the NHL, two minutes higher than last season. Is he going to be able to keep this up all season?
• Jakob Silfverberg was pretty much invisible. He wasn't tearing it up with Spezza, but without him his biggest asset, the shot, is a lot less dangerous.
• Chris Phillips played only 16:47 tonight. Paul MacLean relies heavily on Karlsson and Gonchar these days, with Gonchar playing over 26 minutes tonight. It's concerning that even with Cowen and Lundin injured, Phillips is playing so little.
• Daniel Alfredsson and Colin Greening were the only forwards without a shot on goal.