SENS COME UP SHORT IN FINAL HOME GAME
Spirited effort fails to produce a win as fans turn out to salute Karlsson
On Fan Appreciation Night, the Ottawa Senators and their faithful were left with an empty feeling.
The 30th place Senators came up short against the high-flying Winnipeg Jets after Ottawa dropped a wild 6-5 decision in front of 17,122 fans on Monday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
And perhaps the most significant move of the night came at the final buzzer when captain Erik Karlsson, after a three-point effort, fished the puck out of the net in what may have been his final home game in an Ottawa uniform.
“I don’t know why I did it, it was just laying there, and I didn’t really think about (it being the last home) it — and I didn’t really think that you guys would ever think about that even — but there are a lot of cameras out there,” said Karlsson.
“I was down there and I saw it was in the net, so I just picked it up and decided to keep it . ... It’s not something I thought about going into this game and it’s not something I’m going to think about for awhile.”
Despite his efforts, along with rookie Thomas Chabot’s first two-goal game, Christian Wolanin’s first NHL goal and three points apiece from Mike Hoffman and Matt Duchene, it wasn’t enough to get the club two points.
Blake Wheeler scored twice for the Jets while Mathieu Perrault, Josh Morrissey, Andrew Copp and Brandon Tanev also beat Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson. Connor Helleybuyck wasn’t great, but he made the saves the Jets needed when the Senators pressed.
Duchene scored on the power play at 18:55 of the third period to make it 6-5. It was the 200th goal of his career.
“Our effort was outstanding after the first 10 to 12 minutes of the game,” said Duchene. “Our pushback was outstanding. We showed ourselves tonight we can play with any team in the league and we’ve got to remember that coming into the next year.”
Of course, a lot of the pre-game chatter surrounded Karlsson’s future because there are no guarantees he’ll be back next season. The Senators still have three road games left, in Buffalo on Wednesday, Pittsburgh on Friday and Boston on Saturday, but this may have been Ottawa fans’ last glimpse of Karlsson.
General manager Pierre Dorion has said the Senators will make Karlsson an offer on July 1 when he’s a year away from unrestricted free agency, but the club did entertain trade discussions leading up to the Feb. 26 trade deadline before deciding not to make the move.
“There’s stuff swirling (about Karlsson) so you never know. Whether he’s here next year
Our pushback was outstanding. We showed ourselves tonight we can play with any team in the league and we’ve got to remember that coming into the next year.
or not, he’s one of the all-time greats of this franchise, so it’s a moment he wanted to take,” said Duchene.
And, the final result Monday was evidence changes need to be made.
The Senators made this interesting when Wolanin — who made his NHL debut on March 22 — cut Winnipeg’s lead to 5-4. He beat Hellebuyck from the front of the net at 4:57 of the third period. Perrault scored what turned out to be the winner at 14:38 of the period.
“It was pretty special to score on home ice, pretty special to score my first NHL goal, and even cooler to see the first person congratulating me was one of the best defencemen in the world,” said Wolanin.
The Jets held a 5-3 lead after 40 minutes and the Senators had been outshot 26-24. Coach Guy Boucher made a risky move by pulling Anderson with only 3.3 seconds left on the clock and his team on the power play. Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele just missed the open net as the clock expired.
Not long after Chabot’s second of the game at 11:58 of the middle period got the Senators back within striking distance, Wheeler’s second of the game at 12:46 gave the Jets some much-needed breathing room.
Give the Senators credit, they pushed back.
The Jets restored their twogoal lead when Tanev scored his 13th short-handed at 6:25 of the second frame. For the second time in the game, the officials missed the goal and had to go upstairs to confirm it had beaten Anderson to give the Jets a 4-2 advantage.
Duchene had scored his 25th of the season on the power play at 1:28 of the middle frame to cut Winnipeg’s lead to 3-2. His shot from the slot hit Winnipeg defenceman Jacob Trouba in front and changed direction before beating Hellebuyck.
The Senators were no match for the Jets early. They trailed 3-1 at the end of the first period and were completely outplayed.
Wheeler scored his 36th goal of the season at 11:57 of the period to give the Jets the three-goal lead. The puck went in and out of the net so fast the officials had to go upstairs for the replay. Anderson knew it was in right away.
Only 21 seconds earlier, the Jets had pulled out to a 2-0 lead when Morrissey beat Anderson with a shot from the blue line through traffic.
The Senators finally got on the board when Chabot scored his eighth of the season, beating Hellebuyck from the slot.