At least the Senators are one of the league’s best, right? Final Score: 4-3 Senators in overtime
Looking at the Ottawa Senators’ roster, I had a really hard time believing that this is not a team that the Edmonton Oilers should beat on most nights. With the Sens trading basically everything they had at the deadline after losing Karlsson in the offseason, there aren’t many names you’d recognize on this team anymore and you’d think that would give our boys a nice head start. That said, the last time these two teams met did not start off well for our Oilers, and it took a hell of a comeback by the boys over the last 30 minutes or so to pull out the win, something I wanted to be spared from today. So when the Senators finished the first period up by a goal as a result of a pair of power play goals, I wasn’t exactly feeling inspired by the way things were going. That said, there was plenty of time to turn things around and I believed that the Oilers would find a way to make something happen.
As the game progressed, the Oilers’ biggest need that I was tightening up their puck choices in their own zone and, more importantly, staying out of the penalty box. In the second period, they did a much better job of keeping the bulk of Ottawa’s chances to the outside of the ice, and while they still allowed a sizeable number of shots against, most came from a distance and with a clear line of sight for the goalie. This steadiness allowed the Oilers to tie things up for a second time and keep themselves in the mix for the win. With the score tied heading into the final frame, it was still anyone’s game and the Oilers needed to put the hammer down to ensure they’d be walking away from the afternoon with two points. And while both teams traded goals early on, the third period would solve nothing and it was off to bonus hockey to determine a winner.
Unfortunately, the Oilers couldn’t manage to generate a shot in the OT period despite having all kinds of possession time and that gave the Senators the window they needed to end things off. As I wrote in this morning’s GDB that, like the captain of the Titanic, I will ride this Oilers ship right to the bottom of the ocean if I have to and today’s loss to the Senators certainly pokes another hole in the dinghy.
The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

  • Alex Chiasson tied the game up at one apiece after Darnell Nurse found him with a beautiful lead pass that set him in alone on Andersson. From there, Chiasson pulled off a nice little backhanded deke, elevated the puck, and deposited his 21st goal of the season.
  • Connor McDavid tied the game up with his 38th goal of the season after he and Draisaitl executed a 2-on-1 in a way that only those two can. Between the two of them, they made a few quick passes back and forth before Connor smashed the puck past Anderson to finishing things off.
  • Only moments after the Sens took the lead for the third time, Colby Cave responded with an absolute snipe show that beat Craig Anderson high on the glove side. Joseph Gambardella made a nice assist out into the slot and Cave made no mistake of burying it. You’ve gotta like that response after allowing another tough goal against.
  • I want to give Darnell Nurse a shout out for the beautiful pass he made to set Alex Chiasson up with a break on his goal. Darryl hit him right on the tape in full flight, and I was a big fan. Nurse finished the night 22:46 TOI, an assist, one hit, two shots on goal, and three blocked shots.
  • Another shout out goes to Andrej Sekera who played in his 700th game today. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again now, but Sekera has been a pleasure to watch since coming back from his Achilles injury. I certainly didn’t expect it, but I’m very much enjoying it. This guy is a smart hockey player.
  • At least Paajarvi didn’t score? He did get an assist though.

THE FACE PALMERS

  • This is a game the Oilers had to win and the fact that they didn’t against what amounts to basically an AHL roster is very upsetting.
  • Brady Tkachuk got the Senators on the board first after he was able to bank the puck in off Adam Larsson’s skate from behind the net and get a lucky bounce that slipped past Mikko Koskinen. Tough luck goal to put the Oilers in an early hole. Tkachuk added the game winner in OT after he found a hole on Koskinen’s glove side and snuck a wrister through it.
  • Bobby Ryan restored the Senators lead with their second power play goal of the period after he parked himself in front of the net and Thomas Chabot found him for a tap in. Leon Draisaitl had a chance to clear the zone but tried to make a backhanded saucer pass that got intercepted and turned into a goal only seconds later.
  • Brian Gibbons scored early in the third period to give the Senators their third lead of the game after the Oilers blew their assignments on the backcheck which created the odd-man rush that caused the goal.
  • After getting a nice bounce back win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, it made sense for Mikko Koskinen to be back between the pipes this afternoon. The dude has been inconsistent over the course of his first season with the Edmonton Oilers, and I’m really hoping he can use these last eight games to keep working on his game. While I certainly wouldn’t blame Koskinen for this loss, I would suggest that he allowed another couple of goals that he’ll want to have back, including the OT winner to Tkachuk. Koskinen finished the night 31 saves and a .885 save%.
  • Getting outshot 35 to 29 by the Ottawa Senators is not a great look.
  • The PK was a disaster for the Oilers tonight as they allowed two goals on two chances with goals that were completely preventable.
  • We’re seriously going to make it through this whole season with a Rieder goal, huh?
  • This one hurts. The #BeetCast is coming up in a few minutes and you can join in the conversation over on my Twitter account.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIMETEAMDETAILSSCORE
04:37
Ottawa
PPG – Brady Tkachuk (18) ASST: Christian Wolanin (6), Dylan DeMelo (17)
1-0
08:12
Edmonton
Alex Chiasson (21) ASST: Darnell Nurse (29)
1-1
15:28
Ottawa
PPG – Bobby Ryan (14) ASST: Thomas Chabot (37), Colin White (23)
2-1

2ND PERIOD

TIMETEAMDETAILSSCORE
02:54
Edmonton
Connor McDavid (38) ASST: Leon Draisaitl (52), Zack Kassian (10)
2-2

3RD PERIOD

TIMETEAMDETAILSSCORE
07:37
Ottawa
Brian Gibbons (6) ASST: Magnus Paajarvi (6), Oscar Lindberg (9)
3-2
08:33
Edmonton
Colby Cave (3) ASST: Joseph Gambardella (2), Sam Gagner (6)
3-3

OT PERIOD

TIMETEAMDETAILSSCORE
02:09
Ottawa
Brady Tkachuk (19)
4-3

#GOODCONTENT

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Source: NHL, Official Game Page, 3/23/2019 – 4:45 pm MT