OTTAWA | There is a limit to visiting the penalty box. When a team frequents him five times in the same period, they play with the handles of his grave.
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The Canadian had this bad idea in the second period for his first visit this season to the Canadian Tire Centre, a building that does not gain in beauty with the years and which still remains so far from downtown Ottawa.
Despite shoulder injuries to their two best centers in Joshua Norris and Tim Stützle, the Senators withstood a late CH push to win 3-2.
DJ Smith’s men took advantage of the indiscipline of their rivals in the second period by scoring two goals on the power play. Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk took turns outsmarting Samuel Montembeault during penalties to Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky.
A disgruntled coach
In the eyes of Martin St-Louis, there was not just indiscipline as a factor to justify this setback. “You saw the game like me, murmured St-Louis, who was not in a good mood. I think you know the answer. »
St. Louis was referring to questionable calls from referees Gord Dwyer and Cody Beach. “However, we have to control our emotions in that moment and it’s difficult to do that. »
The Canadian knew the plan. Martin St-Louis had already told his players that discipline would be key against the Sens.
Despite a rocky start to the season, the Senators have one of the best power play records in the NHL.
Before the CH visit, they were sixth in the circuit at 27.4%. With two more goals in that game, they now have 31 power-play goals this season, more than double the Habs’ production (13).
character
The Canadian has once again demonstrated his desire to never give up. Despite a score of 3 to 0 after two periods, the CH scared the Senators by hitting the target twice in the third.
Dach, who took a bad four-minute penalty late in the second, and Christian Dvorak each beat Talbot. On Dvorak’s goal, Nick Suzuki made a superb backhand pass.
If the CH knocked on the door to create the equality, a punishment from Jordan Harris at the end of the game slowed down the enthusiasm. It was like this evening.
“We played well five against five, we played smart, but we lacked discipline in the second period, judged Dach. It makes the difference in this game. »
“There is no doubt that our penalties have hurt, added Dvorak. I have a feeling we played the whole second short of a man. The Sens are dangerous in numerical superiority and they took advantage of it. »
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Christian Dvorak
Dvorak scored his sixth goal of the season, he won 55 of his faceoffs and he played just over five minutes shorthanded He’s been playing good hockey lately On the blue line, Joel Edmundson and Kaiden Guhle also deserve a star in their notebook
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Mike Hoffman
If Joel Armia capitalized on a golden scoring opportunity in the third period by pulling defender Jake Sanderson out of his pants after a fine pass from Jonathan Drouin, Hoffman had another game where he was simply invisible
First period
No goal
Penalties: Chabot (Ott) 9:19, Xhekaj (Mon) 14:03
Second period
1-Ott: Shane Pinto (10)
(DeBrincat, Zaitsev)1:28
2-Ott: Drake Batherson (8)
(DeBrincat, Tkachuk) AN-5:41
3-Ott: Brady Tkachuk (13)
(DeBrincat, Batherson)AN-8:02
Penalties: Wideman (Mon) 2:17, Dach (Mon) 5:31, Slafkovsky (Mon) 6:58, Kelly (Ott) 13:06, Dach (Mon) (dou min) 16:44
Third period
4-Mon: Kirby Dach (5)
(Evans, Slafkovsky)8:05
5-Mon: Christian Dvorak (6)
(Suzuki, Dadonov)13:12
Penalties: Watson (Ott) 10:24, Harris (Mon) 16:44
Shoot to the net
Montreal 10 – 3 – 12 – 25Ottawa 6 – 16 – 9 – 31
Guardians:
Mon: Samuel Montembeault (P, 5-3-2) Ott: Cam Talbot (G, 7-7-0)
Numerical advantages:
Mon: 0 en 3, Ott: 2 en 6
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, Cody Beach
Linesmen:
Jonathan Deschamps, Bryan Pancich
ASSISTANCE:
19 567
Christian Dvorak
★★★
What we noticed…
Slafkovsky on the first wave
Without a goal in its last four games (0 in 17), the CH has reshaped its units in numerical superiority. Alex Burrows and Martin St-Louis offered an audition to Juraj Slafkovsky within the first wave. Slafkovsky found himself in front of the opposing net, while Jonathan Drouin was at the point. Despite the changes, the Habs failed to score on three occasions.
DeBrincat en feu
DJ Smith said the day before the game that Alex DeBrincat had been driving at his usual pace for ten games. The small left winger has now found his bearings with his new team. Author of ten points (4 goals, 6 assists) in his last ten games, DeBrincat continued his momentum with three other points. He participated in the three goals of his team in the second period with three assists.
The beginnings of Lucchini
Recalled from the Belleville Senators due to injuries to forwards Tim Stützle and Tyler Motte, Jacob Lucchini played his first NHL game at the age of 27. The former Laval Rocket was one of the offensive cogs in Belleville with 23 points in 24 games.
The wind is turning
The CH dominated the Senators in the first period. Halfway through, it was 8-0 in the shooting column. Cam Talbot made some good saves to calm the storm. But the Senators reversed the trend in the second period with a bombardment of 17 shots against only three for the Canadian. They scored three times in the second, including twice on the power play.