TAKEAWAYS: Ottawa Senators come up short against Jacob Markstrom and the Devils

Published Oct 17, 2024  •  3 minute read

Devils’ centre Paul Cotter (right) checks Senators’ defenceman Jake Sanderson (85) into the boards during first period at Canadian Tire Centre last night. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick /THE CANADIAN PRESS

DEVILS 3, SENATORS 1

It was one of those nights that ended in frustration for the Ottawa Senators.

The Senators are learning the hard way if this club is going to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2017 then the club will have to battle through on games like Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Bound and determined to bounce back with a better defensive effort after an 8-7 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday at home, the Senators did a better job on that front, but only Claude Giroux was able to beat Jacob Markstrom on the 31 shots he faced.

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But if the Senators are going to beat teams they’ll battle for a playoff spot in the East then these are the games where they have to find a way. Your best players have to be your best players and that wasn’t always the case in what turned into a difficult 60 minutes for Ottawa.

The Senators last win against the Devils in Ottawa was on April 26, 2022, when the club scored a 5-4 OT decision. New Jersey came into this game with three straight wins in this rink and victories in five of six.

THE BACKUP PLAN

All the Senators need from their backup goalie is a solid effort.

Pulled on Monday after giving up three goals on nine shots midway through the game, Green went back to Anton Forsberg in this one because Belleville callup Mads Sogaard was worse against the Kings when he took over.

There wasn’t a lot Forsberg could do on the opening goal by the Devils in the second. Moments after the Senators killed off a New Jersey power play, Erik Haula opened the scoring at 2:39 of the second on the 14th shot that Forsberg faced.

Haula tipped a shot from the point that deflected off Jacob Bernard-Docker’s stick and through Forsberg’s five-hole.

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This was the club’s second straight game without top goalie Linus Ullmark, but the hope is he’ll be ready to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon as the Senators wrap up this three-game homestand.

Paul Cotter sealed the win to make it 3-0 at 12:37 of the third.

DIGGING A HOLE

The Senators erased three two-goal deficits against the Kings, but when the Devils pulled out to a 2-0 lead at 6:26 of the second period you didn’t get the feeling that history might repeat itself.

Nathan Bastien scored his first of the year at 6:26 of with a shorthanded effort. He did a good job on a 2-on-1 using former Senators’ winger Curtis Lazar a decoy to beat Forsberg on the stick side.

At that point, the Senators were 0-for-2 with the man advantage and had given up a goal. That can’t happen because the Devils do a good job of shutting the door.

Giroux, who gave away the puck to set up the 2-on-1 on the Devils second goal, had a glorious opportunity with eight minutes left in the second but hit the post. By the end, Ottawa had hit three posts.

The third period was ho-hum because the Devils shut it down.

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MAKING HIS DEBUT

There were a lot of eyes on Bernard-Docker in this one.

Suiting up for his first game of the season after being a healthy scratch in the first three games, the 24-year-old Bernard-Docker was pressed into duty with Artrem Zub out for at least a week with a concussion.

Bernard-Docker, the club’s No. 26 overall selection in the 2018 National Hockey League draft, was partnered with his University of North Dakota teammate Tyler Kleven in the third pairing.

All Bernard-Docker has to do is play a simple game. He’s suited up for 102 games in his career because he doesn’t do anything fancy and also does a good job blocking shots.

Zub’s loss has put the club’s defensive depth to a test.

Veteran Travis Hamonic played in the top pairing with Jake Sanderson while Thomas Chabot remained with Nick Jensen. The Senators may have to go get a defenceman, but they’d like the answers to come from within.

The Senators limited the Devils’ chances, but a couple of costly mistakes ended up in the net.

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