Sens beaten by Rangers as losing streak continues
Goalie Anderson gives them a shot, but comeback against New York comes up short
It was a tough loss for the Ottawa Senators to swallow in the Big Apple on Monday night.
While the Senators didn’t go down without a fight, it was another night of frustration for Ottawa, which dropped its fourth straight game in falling 4-2 to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The Senators close out a difficult four-game road trip Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers, with one last chance to earn points before returning home.
Mark Stone was the only Senator to hit the scoresheet, scoring both Ottawa goals.
“It’s tough to lose. We’re in the business of winning hockey games and right now we’re struggling. It’s going to bring out some character in all of us,” Stone said.
“If you watch us the last three games, it was about as bad as it could get. We made steps in the right direction tonight. You can’t just re-right the ship in one day. Tonight was a step in the right direction.”
Making his 22nd appearance in the club’s net, Craig Anderson was solid with 29 saves, while Henrik Lundqvist had a strong effort as well for the Rangers, also stopping 29 shots. Goals were hard to come by and that hasn’t always been the case for the Senators.
Lias Andersson, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Marc Staal, with his first goal in 94 games, scored for the Rangers, who allowed Ottawa to get up off the mat in the third. The Senators saw their record fall to 2-8-1 on the road this season after their attempt at a comeback fell short.
Stone scored his second of the game with 2:43 left in the third to pull the Senators within a goal. Only 1:04 later, Zibanejad put it into an empty net to make sure his former team had no chance to complete the rally.
New York put this out of reach at 8:18 of the third when Kreider scored his 13th of the season by finishing off a 2-on-1 to beat Anderson on the glove side. That odd man rush put a damper on what had been a good performance by the Senators.
The Rangers broke a 1-1 tie with 16:34 left in the first when a puck bounced off Andersson in front and into the Ottawa net. The Senators challenged for goalie interference on the play by Andersson, but the situation room ruled it was a good goal.
“No goaltender interference infractions occurred before the puck crossed the goal-line,” the league said in its decision.
That was a tough blow for Anderson, because he had done a good job giving the Senators a chance to win.
This was a big night for many young Senators. Madison Square Garden is one of the NHL’s biggest stages and many were making their debut here. Coach Guy Boucher made changes to the club’s lines in hopes they’d be better defensively.
Through 40 minutes, this was a good goaltending duel. The shots were 22-22 as Anderson and Lundqvist went toe-to-toe. Both goalies were fortunate to have help from their posts as the Senators and Rangers created some pretty good scoring chances.
Both teams hit two posts and the score remained tied 1-1.
There was no shortage of entertainment in the second with both teams having terrific opportunities. Zibanejad hit the post behind Anderson, while Lundqvist made a good stop on Cody Ceci at the other end.
The Senators were better defensively than they were Friday against the Stars, so that should be seen as a step in the right direction. But blue-liner Dylan DeMelo said more work is still needed in that area.
“Our attention to detail was there all night,” he said. “There were some breakdowns (but) overall, we did a lot of good things . ... It’s something we’re working on and we’re going to continue to work on. Today was a good step. We stayed with it and we plugged away. It’s frustrating because we wanted to win and we put a good effort in.”
COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE
Stone was in the lineup against the Rangers, but opted not to use the full visor he wore Sunday.
After a puck rode up his stick and hit him in the face during the loss to the Stars on Friday, Stone considered himself fortunate the damage wasn’t worse.
“It’s a bit sore, but it looks like it’s just bruised,” Stone said. “I got the X-ray done right after the game in Dallas and there was no structural damage, so it’s just a bruise and some swelling.
“I did get lucky. It could have hit me in the eye, it could have taken out teeth, it could have broken my orbital bone. It kind of hit me in a really good spot which is fortunate, but I’m a little unfortunate that it hit me in general, I guess.”
THE LAST WORDS
The Senators didn’t have rugged alternate captain Mark Borowiecki for the second straight game Monday and it’s doubtful he’ll suit up against the Flyers on Tuesday. He has been trying to play through an undisclosed upper-body injury. He’s possible for Thursday’s visit by the Rangers to Ottawa, but it may be likely that Borowiecki doesn’t suit up until Saturday, when Erik Karlsson makes his much-anticipated return to Canadian Tire Centre with the San Jose Sharks.
“If it was playoffs he’d be playing, but right now every day makes a big difference,” Boucher said. “It’s much better for him not to be in the lineup. We’re close, but we’ll make sure it’s the right thing” when he does return . ... Forward Colin White was excited about his first chance to play as a pro at the Garden. He had more than 15 family and friends there, including his parents and grandfather. He missed Friday’s game with an undisclosed injury.
“I have a lot of family coming in so it should be a fun game,” said White, who played a game here while at Boston College. “It’s really cool. Any time you get a chance to play at Madison Square Garden as a young guy it’s pretty special. To have your family in the crowd, kids dream of it, so it should be fun.”