Senators Postgame: Forsberg Rebounds but Offense Falters in Loss

This game could very well be described as a perfect road game. That would be great news, if you happened to be a Devils fan. For Senators fans, though, this game left a lot to be desired. The Devils came in, fought off the Senators best efforts in the first period, scored two goals in the second, and then neutralized the Senators in their best impression of the trapping Devils from many years ago, making for a rather boring finish to this game. Again, great if you like the Devils, not so great for the Sens. Let’s dive into the details.

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Anton Forsberg

It wouldn’t make sense to put a 3-1 loss on the goaltender. On top of that Forsberg faced 35 shots. Even still, it’s at the point with Forsberg that every goal against will have the fanbase double checking to see if it was a weak goal, or maybe simply a goal that you’d like your goalie to save. Fair or not, that’s how it goes after such a terrible season last year, and then of course, a bad start against the Kings to start this season. Looking at the goals against, none of them were terribly weak. Sure, the Senators would like to see Bastian’s shorthanded goal stopped, but this loss isn’t on Forsberg. Going forward, though, it’s on him to up his game so that he isn’t scrutinized for every goal against. He’s also in need of a new contract.

Senators Stand-Outs

This is a tough one. The Devils did a great job slowing the Senators down, neutralizing a team fresh off an eight goal game on Monday. It’s honestly hard to pick out the best Senators. MacEwan had a solid fourth line game. He had a fancy dangle in the third that was cool as it continues to help push my theory that he’s a skilled player stuck in the role and body of a goon. It was nice to see Brady Tkachuk score his first goal of the season, even if it was just a goal off his leg without much time left in the game. Sanderson continues to play great hockey. Bernard-Docker looked fine in his season debut. Needless to say, this was a forgettable game, and I’m saying that just ten minutes after it finished.

Additional Notes

It felt like the refs missed a few calls tonight. Nothing egregious, but when a player is hauled down with the puck, that should probably lead to a power play. The main victim is Tim Stützle. Some fanbases call him a diver. He takes his share of abuse, though. If he could channel his inner McDavid/MacKinnon and become stronger on his skates, he could take that next step into superstardom. Speaking of McDavid and MacKinnon, you’d just about never see those teams start a power play without them and the first unit out there. The Senators have switched it up between their units at times. It hurt them today, with the second unit giving up a shorthanded goal when they started the Sens second power play. I’d like to see the Senators commit to a true top unit. It should include the big three: Stützle, Tkachuk, and Sanderson. Sure, it’s nice to have a solid second unit, but it seems like the best power plays are the ones that have their top guys playing for that first minute and a half.

Anyway, the Senators don’t have much time to dwell on this loss. It’ll be a Saturday afternoon game at 1pm against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Let’s aim for a sold-out, raucous crowd, Sens fans.