Senators' Zetterlund stays hot in overtime loss to Devils

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Claude Giroux: B

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Giroux was dishing the puck on the power play, setting up Pinto with a perfect cross-slot pass for the 2-2 goal. He had one shot and one takeaway in 13:58.

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Nick Cousins: B+

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Cousins was rather useful along the walls in the O zone, winning 50-50 pucks and getting them back to the point or finding a linemate on the cycle. He covered for Zub at the point ahead of the 2-1 goal, keeping the puck in and finding Amadio down low. Cousins took a pretty blatant tripping penalty in the third, but overall he had a strong game.

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Warren Foegele: B

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Foegele, who hasn’t scored in 11 games, was close to breaking through offensively, getting obstructed on a partial break in the first and tipping a Nikolas Matinpalo point shot off the post in the second. He finished with two shots, one block and one hit in 15:59.

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Lars Eller: C+

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Eller had some spirited board battles in the first period, but didn’t affect the game all that much in the latter half. He had one hit, one giveaway and one takeaway in 16:01.

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Kurtis MacDermid: D

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MacDermid’s poor skating and lack of agility left him struggling to impact the play. When he happened to get close to a puck carrier, he played them hard, once knocking over Nick Bjugstad with a cross-check at the New Jersey blue line in the second. He was minus-1 in 5:46.

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Defencemen

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Artem Zub: A-

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Zub fluttered the perfect wrister from the point for Amadio to tip for the 2-1 goal. The Russian had nearly set up a goal with the exact same tactic the previous shift. He had two takeaways and was the only Senator to finish plus-2.

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Jordan Spence: B-

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Spence was active in the offensive zone, firing a team-high five shots and quarterbacking the first unit power play well. Coach Travis Green leaned on him heavily, playing him 26:36, eight seconds more than Zub. There were two blemishes to his game, though. Spence took a tough tripping penalty in the second, and his miscue with Cozens at the left point on the man advantage was made worse when he couldn’t handle the soft pass and the Devils went down the ice to tie it 3-3.

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Dennis Gilbert: C+

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Appearing in his first game since sustaining an upper-body injury on March 21, Gilbert kept it simple, getting pucks out off of the glass, making easy breakout passes, and getting over the red line to dump and change.

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Nikolas Matinpalo: B

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Matinpalo closed in on puck carriers quickly, and used his lengthy reach to break up a number of plays in the D zone. His long stride helped him recover well, once skating the length of the ice to beat Hughes to a puck in the Sens’ end. He took a cross-checking penalty in the third, presumably for boxing out in front because there was no infraction to be identified on any replay.

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Lassi Thomson: D-

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Thomson had by far his worst game in the NHL this season. He turned the puck over behind the Ottawa net trying to deke Nico Hischier in the first period and couldn’t clear the goal mouth on a scramble moments later, leading to the Devils’ 1-0 marker. He gave New Jersey several Grade A scoring chances by blindly throwing pucks away in the defensive zone. He stole a puck from Hughes in the second only to give it right back to a Devils blue liner with a backhand pass attempt up the middle of the ice, and did the exact same thing on the next shift, leading to New Jersey hitting a cross bar. Thomson had a wild stat line: one shot, two blocks, two hits, three giveaways and one takeaway in 16:08.

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Cameron Crotty: B

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Crotty was one of two defenders that finished with a plus rating. He had a shockingly good offensive game, navigating traffic in front to find shooting lanes and funnel several pucks to the net.

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Goalie

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James Reimer: B

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Reimer looked awful in the first period, down and out on scrambles and allowing the puck to slide through him on Brown’s shorthanded breakaway. Seeing as it was his first start since March 31, it was understandable that he needed a period to shake off the rust. He locked in after the first and made some key saves to give the Senators a chance.

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Now it’s time for your take; tell us in the comment section which Senators impressed you and who needs to improve their game.

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