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The Ottawa Senators did well to wrap up a playoff berth against the New York Islanders on Sunday, but head coach Paul MacLean can't be exhilarated by his team's effort on Tuesday night in a 2-1 regulation loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Credit Carolina for not rolling over on the road - a sight we've seen far too often with teams around the National Hockey League. The Hurricanes came ready to play, perhaps in an attempt to fulfill their coach's prophecy of running off three straight victories to end the year on a solid note.
The other side of that coin? Well, Ottawa's compete level - perhaps the most exalted attribute of this team - wasn't exactly dialed up. No. This one-goal reeked of half-assery, with the team lacking that kind of battle and intensity we've come to expect all season long.
It wasn't a mail-it-in effort, but there seemed to be little inspiration from their game. As highly-paid athletes, you expect them to be robotic in nature, but the reality is this team's just looking to clean up this week before preparing for post-season play. It's not a good mentality, but at the very least, it's understandable.
And, it's not as if I'm heaping hyperbole on a team that simply had a bad night. This Ottawa team was nearly shutout with just a handful of legitimate scoring opportunities through sixty minutes. Jason Spezza erased Cam Ward's shutout bid with twelve ticks left on the clock, beating the Carolina netminder with the goalie pulled.
Jason Spezza's goal gave him eighty-three points on the season (33G/50A).
Carolina scored both of their goals in the second period, with Brandon Sutter and Tuomo Ruutu beating Craig Anderson. Sutter's tally came on a rush after an odd Erik Condra turnover; Ruutu's mark came on a power-play redirect just a few feet from the crease.
The loss, combined with the Devils victory vs. the New York Islanders, has solidified that Ottawa will either finish in seventh or eighth place to end the year.
Yes - we're now down to two potential opponents. And one of them - the Boston Bruins - appears almost definite at this stage of the game.
To be honest, there's really not much else to add regarding tonight's tilt. Cam Ward probably deserves from praise for his 38/39 save effort, but as mentioned previously, he wasn't tested all that much.
Ottawa's back in action on Thursday night versus Boston- a pretty interesting development created by the scheduling office in hindsight, pinning two likely playoff combatants together late in the year. There will be a ton of speculation and guessing as to how both Paul MacLean and Claude Julien will approach it. Send in the gamers, or rest the big guns?
Carolina will head home and play host to Montreal on Thursday. Both teams are playing out the string at this stage.
Back with more manana.
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