DEKEthoughts #56
Ottawa Senators Fall 4-0 At Carolina Amid Fan Outrage Over Officiating
The Senators were shutout for the first time this season and Spencer Martin got his first NHL shutout.
Steve Warne • Nov 16, 2024
The Ottawa Senators keep showing signs of excellence this season, but simply can't find any traction. After winning two straight, the Senators have now lost two straight, falling 4-0 in Carolina on Saturday night.
The Senators didn't have their best stuff early on, but that paled in comparison to the performance of the officiating team.
Sens goalie Anton Forsberg was excellent, keeping Ottawa in the game in the first period. His one mistake was a doozy, though, allowing a Jordan Martinook goal from down below the goal line.
That was the only blemish in the first half of the game and the Sens slowly started getting their legs under them.
Midway through the second period, Tim Stutzle appeared to tie the game at 1, but on the backswing of his shot attempt, his stick clipped Andrei Svechnikov's stick.
Svechnikov was backchecking with one hand on his stick and the contact of Stutzle's backswing knocked the stick out of his hand.
Oilers In Desperate Need Of Strong Finish Against Struggling Habs
Coming off three consecutive blown leads, the Oilers need to clamp it down against the Montreal Canadiens.
Finn Marceau • Nov 18th, 2024
The Oilers must really love a dramatic finish.
They've gone to overtime in each of their past three games, each time after blowing a third-period lead.
While they managed to avoid disaster and salvage a win against the Islanders and Predators, their luck ran out on Saturday night when the Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner put them away in the extra frame after a back-and-forth third period.
As they continue their three-game road trip through eastern Canada tonight in Montreal, the coaching staff is surely focusing on one thing: no more blown leads.
A matchup with the 30th-place Canadiens could be just what the doctor ordered. The 6-10-2 Habs are one of the only teams in the league to allow more third-period goals than the Oilers -- 25 to Edmonton's 24.
That's par for the course for the Canadiens this year, as they've been one of the worst defensive teams in the league to start the season. They've allowed 3.89 goals per game, second-highest behind Pittsburgh at 3.90.