The Ottawa Senators came out strong following their holiday break, but were foiled by a brilliant individual effort from Red Wing Gustav Nyquist to fall in overtime to Detroit. Ottawa squandered two different one goal leads, achieved thanks to goals by Mike Hoffman and Clarke MacArthur, as Detroit forced overtime on a quick powerplay goal by captain Henrik Zetterberg early in the third. The 3-2 overtime loss to a division rival keeps the Senators at a frustrating .500 pace that makes playoff contention difficult, with a 14-14-7 overall record. The Senators have a quiet week, hosting the Buffalo Sabres tonight at Canadian Tire Centre, then travelling to Boston for a Saturday clash with the Bruins following the New Year’s break. The Senators need to start racking up wins if they want a realistic chance at a playoff spot.
Christmas dinners must have given the young Ottawa 67’s a burst of energy, as they powered their way to a 5-4 overtime win on home ice over the Kingston Frontenacs on Sunday afternoon. Ottawa was paced by strong three-point performances from captain Travis Konecny and first-line centre Erik Bradford, who potted the OT winner on the powerplay. In the absence of starting netminder Liam Herbst, Russian goalie Leo Lazarev continued his strong play as he secured the win despite Ottawa being outshot 31-27. No rest for the weary as the 67’s embark on a long northern roadtrip this week, scheduled to play against the North Bay Battalion (Wednesday), Sudbury Wolves (Friday), and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (Saturday).
The World Junior Championship officially kicked off on Boxing Day. Team Canada captain Curtis Lazar, on loan from the Senators, scored his first point of the tournament in a 4-0 shutout victory over Germany on Saturday night. Senators prospect Nick Paul of the OHL’s North Bay Battalion also has one goal scored so far in the tournament, scored on Friday in Canada’s lopsided 8-0 thrashing of Slovakia. Defensive defenseman Andreas Englund has no points in Sweden’s two games, but his team sits undefeated at the top of Group B so far in the tournament.
Title image courtesy of hockeycanada.ca
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