Summary:
- The Senators (19-18-3) endured a rough night, suffering their fourth consecutive loss (0-3-1) against the Buffalo Sabres.
- Thursday’s game marked Ottawa’s return to home ice after a nine-game road stretch.
- Instead of a celebratory homecoming, the Senators delivered a poor performance and were booed by fans.
The Ottawa Senators didn’t flatter themselves regarding their performance on Thursday night when they fell 4-0 to the Buffalo Sabres in a game that left sports betting fans and players frustrated.
Chabot: “It Just Wasn’t Good, There’s No Way Around It.”
“It just wasn’t good” admitted defenceman Thomas Chabot, who finished the night with a minus-4 rating.
There’s no way around it. Nobody can hide behind anything. From top to bottom, the whole team (was) just not good enough. Simple as that
Fans in attendance weren’t more lenient either, greeting the team (19-18-3) with boos as they exited the ice after their fourth consecutive loss (0-3-1).
It was a disappointing return to Canadian Tire Centre after nine straight road games due to the world junior hockey championship. Forward Josh Norris went on to express their frustration.
We’ve been gone for a long time now, and we talked about it before the game. We wanted to come out and have a good game in front of our fans. It’s been a while, and yeah, sucks that we didn’t do that for them.
Pre-Christmas Hot Streak Is Over
Once riding a hot streak before the Christmas break, Ottawa has struggled since, managing just one win in their last five games (1-3-1).
They’ve been outscored 15-4 during this losing skid, with offensive struggles representing one of the main issues.
“You’re not going to win a lot of games if you’re not scoring” head coach Travis Green stated bluntly.
The Senators’ top scorers have gone quiet with points leader Tim Stutzle failing to score in five games.
Drake Batherson is also mired in a 10-game drought, while Claude Giroux hasn’t managed to find the net in four games.
Brady Tkachuk has managed two goals in the last five games, but it hasn’t been enough to spark the offense.
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Sabres Capitalized on Sens’ Missteps
Meanwhile, the Sabres capitalized on Ottawa’s missteps and benefited from a stellar 35-save shutout by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Jack Quinn led the way for Buffalo with two goals, including a highlight-reel second off a Peyton Krebs pass as he exited the penalty box.
“We got some big saves at key times” commenced Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff.
We got some big kills, we didn’t let their power play get much generated.
Ottawa’s woes included an injury to Noah Gregor, who was forced to leave in the second period after crashing into the boards. Coach Green confirmed the Beaumont-born will be “out for a little while”.
The Senators are up for a challenging weekend with back-to-back games against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the PPG Paints Arena on Saturday and the Dallas Stars at the Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday, with little time to regroup, get the best TigerGaming Bonuses right now.
