Sens’ defeat down to stupidity, Stone says

OTTAWA — Mark Stone didn’t mince words when assessing Ottawa’s performance on Saturday night.

Ryan Spooner had two goals and Tuukka Rask stopped all 25 shots he faced as the Boston Bruins shut out the Senators 5-0.

“It’s stupidity and frustration,” said Stone. “We put ourselves in terrible spots when you look at the goals that they’re scoring. We’re putting ourselves in terrible situations.”

The Bruins (21-10-6) beat Ottawa for the second time in less than a week after posting a 5-1 victory four days ago.

Noel Acciari, David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron also scored for Boston. Rask recorded his 40th career shutout and second of the season.

Mike Condon stopped 29 shots for the Senators (12-17-8), who were coming off a come-frombehind 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets a night earlier.

The loss leaves Ottawa with a 4-8-2 record in December and it was shut out five times. The Sens are now 4-14-3 in their last 20 games and have been outscored 14-6 in their last three.

“It needed to stop about a month and a half ago,” said Stone. “We’ve put ourselves in a hole that we’re going to need a fantastic run and we’re going to need some help.

“We’ve put ourselves in a deep hole and the guys in the lockerroom are the only ones who are going to be able to get us out of it. It starts at the top.

“Our best players haven’t been our best players and it’s a trickle down effect.”

The Senators have little explanation for why things have gone sideways this season.

“At this point, I don’t really know what to say, it is what it is,” captain Erik Karlsson said. “We’ve got to find a way to build off something and try and get something going for ourselves and we’re doing the best that we can, but as of right now, it’s not working in our favour and we’re not doing ourselves any favours either.”

Boston jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead in the second by scoring three goals on 13 shots.

Sean Kuraly provided a screen for Acciari, who beat Condon off his backhand for a 2-0 advantage. Just over two minutes later, Ben Harpur, looking to shoot the puck in at the blue line, had his shot picked off by Spooner, who in turn broke in alone and beat Condon through the legs.