Pesky Returns

Last season, the Senators developed a name for themselves due to their unrelenting perseverance that had them making several late third period comebacks in games that seemingly looked over. The name, or hashtag, rather, was referred to as the Pesky Sens.

After suffering a 3-2 loss in an afternoon game to St. Louis on Saturday, the Sens visited them Tuesday night with the loss still lingering in their minds. Revenge seemed to be the motivating factor as they pushed through penalties and some questionable disallowed goals to tie the game up at two with 41 seconds left. Since overtime solved nothing, the game went to the shootout where Bobby Ryan scored to win the game for Ottawa. With the win, the Senators proudly reclaimed their title as the Pesky Sens.

Overall, this was one of the best games we've seen from Ottawa all season. Prior to the game, MacLean announced the lineup which brought Condra and Greening in, scratching Michalek and Zibanejad. The scratches certainly took many by surprise, but when asked about the lineup changes after the game, MacLean addressed the situation by referring back to one of his most repeated phrases.

“The best players play”

Although many fans were upset with the lineup, it did look like the Sens had a good group of players in against St. Louis.

Bobby Ryan had a terrific game defensively, and played in a manner that showed he was not going to let the game slip away. Ryan had three shots against St. Louis, and they all seemed to be well generated scoring chances. Hearing the sound of the post seemed to be enough motivation for him to put the game away with his shootout winner.

Erik Condra was brought in after consistently being a healthy scratch, and after his performance, Sens fans should expect to see more of him, especially on this current road trip. As a team that struggles with staying out of the box (suffering eight penalties against St. Louis), they need a penalty killer like Condra in the lineup. He was excellent on the penalty kill, as well as scoring a shorthanded goal that was disallowed. For only recording 9:20 of ice time that night second lowest on the team), he played a terrific game and you couldn't help but notice when he was on the ice.

Another key component in the win against St. Louis was Robin Lehner. Facing 29 shots, he made some key saves for the Senators and kept a levelled head over what turned out to be quite a physical game. In the shootout, he showed lots of patience, stopping all three shots he faced against what is a very talented lineup. The goaltending tandem continues to bring success for Ottawa, as Anderson stands second in the league with a .932 SV%, and Lehner continues to give quality starts.

This game was also the first of the season that they won while outshooting their opponent(33-29). A great confidence booster for the team as they continue a stretch of four away games out of their next five.