The Senators came up short Tuesday night, and the Red Wings finally got a result they could feel good about.
Detroit, still searching for its first win of the season, beat Ottawa 5-3 in a chippy game that got away from the Senators early and never fully came back to them. Former Senator Alex DeBrincat led the way for the Red Wings with two goals and an assist, while William Eklund, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson each finished with a goal and an assist.
Ottawa did get an early spark from Stutzle, who scored on a strong solo rush. But for long stretches after that, the Senators looked like a team dragging through its third game in four nights. Samuel Ersson had a rough start in his first appearance as a Senator, then settled down and finished with 32 saves.
The game turned hard on Ottawa in the second period. After DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin scored in the first, Detroit broke it open with a power-play goal from Viktor Arvidsson at 2:01 of the second, then Justin Faulk scored just over two minutes later to make it 4-1. Four goals on Detroit’s first 17 shots left the Senators digging out of a deep hole.
To their credit, they made a push.
Ottawa started to generate more pressure in the second and outshot Detroit 14-12 in the period. Batherson chipped in with a power-play goal at 6:08, trimming the margin to 4-2 and giving the Senators something to work with going into the third.
But the equalizer never came. Ottawa eventually pulled its goalie for a 6-on-4 during a late power play, though it didn’t do so until nine seconds remained on the man advantage. DeBrincat sealed it with an empty-net goal with 50 seconds left.
The game also boiled over late in the second period. With time running out, Ridly Greig, in his first game back from a two-game suspension, delivered a reverse hit on DeBrincat. The Red Wings took exception, and when Thomas Chabot added two more shots at DeBrincat as the pushing and shoving was fading, the situation escalated fast.
Three separate altercations followed. Greig and Jordan Spence both took punches in the scrum, while Shane Pinto wrestled DeBrincat to the ice.
Even with all of that, nobody received fighting majors. DeBrincat lost out on what would have been an unlikely Gordie Howe Hat Trick, and the officials instead handed out roughing penalties. The teams finished with 18 penalty minutes apiece.
The skirmish seemed to wake Ottawa up a bit, but not enough to complete the comeback.
After two strong road wins to start the season, the Senators still took two of three on the trip, which would have sounded pretty good a week ago, especially with Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub missing from the lineup. Ottawa now heads home for its long-awaited opener Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
For Detroit, this was the kind of win that can steady things after a shaky start. The Red Wings came in winless, and they left with their first victory.
In Other News...
Senators Suddenly Have A Goalie Problem Fans Feared
Linus Ullmarks status has turned a routine stretch of the schedule into an early test for Ottawas depth in net. The Senators starter exited a recent game and is now day-to-day, leaving the crease to Samuel Ersson, who had already been pressed into action in the win over Boston before getting the next assignment against Detroit.
Erssons work has only sharpened the concern around how long Ottawa can lean on its backups if Ullmark needs more time. Even in a losing effort against the Red Wings, the bigger issue for the Senators is less about one off night than the possibility of having to navigate an extended run without their No. 1 goalie, making his return a key piece of the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Just Sent An Early Message About This Teams New Edge
The Senators showed a different kind of edge Friday night in Detroit, where a routine-looking matchup at Little Caesars Arena quickly turned into a test of backbone. What started with Dylan Larkin going after Ridly Greig set off a chain reaction, and Ottawa did not back away from the moment, even as the game veered far from the usual early-season pace.
Thomas Chabot stepped in for Greig, and the response from both benches kept the tension high as other players joined the fray, including Ben Chiarot and Greig in a separate exchange. By the time the dust settled, the message from Ottawa was hard to miss: this is a team willing to stand up for one another, and opponents are going to notice if they try to push them around. [Read more 🡒]
Sarah Nurse And Emerance Maschmeyer Make A Notable Camp Decision
Sarah Nurse and Emerance Maschmeyer have made a notable choice as Hockey Canada opens its world championship training camp in Quebec City, declining their invitations and shifting their focus toward the Vancouver Goldeneyes. For Ottawa fans following the new landscape around the leagues player pool, the decision stands out because both players remain central names in womens hockey and are tied to a franchise building toward its first season, which begins Dec. 5.
Nurse had initially been included on the Hockey Canada camp list before Alexia Aubin took her place, while several other Goldeneyes players are still set to be part of the national team gathering. The bigger picture, though, is timing: this looks less like a detour than a deliberate move to be available when Vancouvers camp opens Nov. 18, leaving the national team picture and the Goldeneyes early roster plans running on parallel tracks. [Read more 🡒]