The Ottawa Senators' playoff hopes take another hit with 4-3 OT loss to Jackets

Blue Jackets 4, Senators 3 (OT)

The Ottawa Senators couldn’t take care of business Sunday night.

It cost them a critical point, and with only five games left the season hangs in the balance as the club inches towards official elimination.

This one was a tough one to swallow as the Senators opened this three-game road trip with a disappointing 4-3 overtime loss to the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.

A turnover by Tim Stutzle during overtime set up Kirill Marchenko for the winner only 16 seconds into the three-on-three session. It didn’t help matters that Ottawa goaltender Cam Talbot is struggling mightily right now, and he gave up four goals on 22 shots to record the loss.

Alex DeBrincat, Mark Kastelic and Dylan Grambrell scored in the first period, but that’s where the offence stopped for the Senators. Boone Jenner tied it up for the Jackets with only 5:49 left in the third period and that led to the Senators’ demise.

Cam Talbot of the Ottawa Senators stops a shot from Johnny Gaudreau of the Columbus Blue Jackets during the second period.Photo by Kirk Irwin /Getty Images

You can pin it on Talbot, but the Senators weren’t very good in front of him, either.

“It’s a bad turnover. At that point, you need a save, but we didn’t get one,” a disappointed coach D.J. Smith told reporters in Columbus. “We just had a few too many guys that weren’t ready to play. In a game like this, where the season is on the line, you have to have everybody going in back-to-back games.

“We took a bad penalty (Mathieu Joseph), a couple of bad details and it ends up in the net, so there’s some lessons that can be learned. You have to learn to protect the puck in these situations.”

Coming off a 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at home, the Senators needed two points against the lowly Jackets to keep any kind of hope for a playoff spot alive. Ottawa had to battle fatigue after arriving in Columbus in the wee hours of the morning and having an early puck drop in this one.

Josh Dunne of the Columbus Blue Jackets attempts to beat Shane Pinto (No. 57) of the Ottawa Senators and Ridly Greig to a loose puck during the second period.Photo by Kirk Irwin /Getty Images

The Senators need to run the table and hope to get some help. They didn’t get any Sunday with the Pittsburgh Penguins scoring a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers to move into the final wildcard spot in the East.

The Senators now trail the Penguins by six points for eighth place, but the Florida Panthers are only a point back of Pittsburgh. The job has been made more difficult with top defencemen Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun and Travis Hamonic done for the season with injuries.

There was a scary moment late in the third when rookie blueliner Jake Sanderson, who has taken on a key role, took a puck in the face in front of the Ottawa net. He went to the dressing room for repairs and there’s a good chance he’ll need some dental work.

Columbus Blue Jackets centre Boone Jenner and Ottawa Senators defenceman Artem Zub battle for position in front of Ottawa Senators goaltender Cam Talbot during the first period.Photo by Jason Mowry /USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

The Senators went back to Talbot in this one. They didn’t have a whole lot of options because Mads Sogaard was left at home with an illness. Talbot had to have a better effort than he did in the club’s 5-4 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers when he allowed four goals on 11 shots.

After giving up two goals on the first two shots, Talbot settled down and the Senators held a 3-2 lead through 40 minutes. The Senators outshot the Jackets 19-13 so Talbot wasn’t busy, but he made the stops he needed to make while Jon Gillies settled in for Columbus.

“They worked hard and we’ve got to step up our game a little bit,” said defenceman Erik Brannstrom. “We played well for two periods, but they won and they worked hard. We’ve got to be ready from the start.”

Dylan Gambrell of the Ottawa Senators beats Jon Gillies of the Columbus Blue Jackets for a goal during the first period.Photo by Kirk Irwin /Getty Images

Both teams tightened up in the second, and that helped to slow the play down after the two teams combined for five goals in the first. All the Senators wanted to do was try to find a way to win because they’re battling the odds here and that’s the only option.

The first period won’t go down in history as a goaltending clinic by either team. It just so happens Gillies was worse and the Senators held a 3-2 lead. DeBrincat fired it by Gillies at 14:46 to give the club its first lead because Talbot was struggling.

Kastelic’s sixth of the season tied it up 2-2 at 9:26. He fired a shot on a rebound that Gillies had no chance on because he’d lost his skate blade. He was trying to get a whistle, but his attempts fell on deaf ears and the Senators were able to capitalize on the opportunity.

Only five seconds after Gambrell scored his third of the year by going to the net and redirecting a pass from Erik Brannstrom by Gillies to tie it up 1-1, the Senators found themselves down in this one again.

Off the faceoff, Eric Robinson beat Talbot on the glove side at 4:05 and the Jackets had two goals on two shots. Columbus’ Kent Johnson opened the scoring on the power play at 2:41 with a shot from the top of the circle on the first shot Talbot faced.

“I think we had good moments,” said Kastelic. “It’s one of those games where you wish you did a little bit more. It’s an unfortunate ending.”

The Senators will face the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday in Raleigh.

BGarrioch@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/sungarrioch

The Ottawa Senators' playoff hopes take another hit with 4-3 OT loss to Jackets

Blue Jackets 4, Senators 3 (OT)

Post a Comment

Post a Comment

Contact Form

The Ottawa Senators' playoff hopes take another hit with 4-3 OT loss to Jackets

Blue Jackets 4, Senators 3 (OT)

Post a Comment

Post a Comment

Contact Form

Recommend Posts