Ottawa Senators looking for answers after three consecutive losses

By Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press on November 19, 2024.

Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk crashes into the net with Edmonton Oilers right wing Vasily Podkolzin and goaltender Stuart Skinner after the play had been stopped during first period NHL action, in Ottawa, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA – The Ottawa Senators are struggling to find answers after their third consecutive loss, a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Connor McDavid and his Edmonton Oilers.

The Senators got off to a slow start and never found a way to keep pace with their western opponents. When asked to assess his team’s performance Brady Tkachuk was direct.

“Keep it short and sweet: not good enough.”

The Senators captain was visibly frustrated, again, following a poor outing. An issue that has been recurring far too often this season.

“One word you could say is immature,” said Tkachuk. “We talk about it in here all the time and there’s just been too many moments, too many opportunities, that have been missed so far.

“I know and I believe that it’s going to get corrected, but it needs to get corrected right now.”

Head coach Travis Green was at a loss for his team’s performance, especially coming off a disappointing 4-0 loss to Carolina days earlier.

“It is frustrating, for sure,” said Green. “I thought we had a flat practice yesterday and thought it carried over.”

The Oilers (10-8-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a great, solo effort by Evan Bouchard where he toe-dragged Thomas Chabot in the slot and beat Linus Ullmark from in close.

“I had no gap and I tried to re-gap, got caught kind of reaching, and obviously, last second you’re just trying to do something and nice goal by him but I mean, that just can’t happen,” said Chabot. “If I’m gonna play those minutes and have that big a role on a team you just can’t, can’t let that happen.”

Tim Stutzle tied the game, but 35 seconds later the Oilers regained the lead when Connor McDavid, who had two goals and an assist, was able to bury a rebound.

McDavid made it 3-1 scoring on a two-man advantage.

“I thought it was a resilient effort,” McDavid said. “Not easy, a lot of travel, a back-to-back and they were rested. I thought we were a little bit behind the eight ball, but just found a way to get it done tonight. That’s what it was all about.”

That’s exactly what it isn’t in Ottawa these days.

While Green was hesitant to comment on Tkachuk’s assessment of the team’s maturity he did say they lack resilience.

“When you make a mistake you’ve got to stick with your game,” Green said. “Sometimes I find that with this group we’re a great team when we have the lead, and we play better when we have the lead. We haven’t played very well chasing the game or when we’re behind.”

The Oilers made it 4-1 when McDavid fed Leon Draisaitl early in the second. Draisaitl beat Ullmark, who made 27 saves, off his backhand.

Ullmark has now given up four or more goals in five of his 11 starts.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made it 5-1 midway through the third, tipping Derek Ryan’s shot. Josh Norris tipped a Nick Jensen shot to round out Ottawa’s scoring.

Stuart Skinner, who also made 27-saves, said the team was motivated to close out this three-game Canadian road swing on a positive.

“It was massive,” said Skinner of the win. “Obviously, if we didn’t (win) it would’ve been a pretty ugly road trip, especially playing all the Canadian teams, you always want to show up for those. I think being able to get off to a good start in the first period was a big help, especially going into a back-to-back.”

The Oilers lost Zach Hyman late in the second after a collision with Ottawa defenceman Nick Jensen. The Oilers said they would need to evaluate Hyman and see how he’s doing.

The Senators will have their work cut out for them as they host the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.