GARRIOCH: Low-handed Senators excluded by Flames after another COVID-19 coup

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Sadly, there were too many positives for the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night.

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And as a result, they found themselves empty against the Calgary Flames.

When winger Drake Batherson, coming off a four-point effort in a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, became the 10th player placed on the COVID-19 protocol less than 60 minutes before the puck dropped , the Senators looked simply on gas in a 4-0 loss to the Flames.

Ottawa backup Anton Forsberg was not at his best for the Senators, while Dan Vlader posted the shutout with 27 stops for the Flames.

“They wore us down after a while,” said Ottawa coach DJ Smith. “Our power play was not great, we tried to push and then they had too many opportunities. At the end of the day, we didn’t have our best legs. “

Smith said he only found out about Batherson two hours before the game.

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The COIVD-19 outbreak has gotten out of hand for senators. The club now has nine healthy players left with its AHL affiliate in Belleville. Ottawa is scheduled to play the New Jersey Devils on the road Tuesday and if that game is not postponed then they will have to bring in another player from the Belleville roster.

The league is monitoring the situation and could still reschedule games. This is wearing down the players and the staff.

“Mentally (it’s difficult) because the players come in and they don’t know if they’re there or not,” Smith added. “It’s a lot of distraction. It’s hard enough winning in the NHL without distractions and noise, let alone all the distractions that come with tryouts and last-minute recalls.

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“I’m not making excuses because it’s the NHL and we have to try to find ways to win, but today was tough.”

Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk taking on his brother Matthew Tkachuk and the Flames for the first time since he was awarded the ‘C’, and his teammates just didn’t seem to have much to do in this one.

“There are no excuses,” Tkachuk said. “It’s a first man mentality.”

After scoring in groups against the penguins, the senators had a hard time burying their chances in this one. Down 3-0 after three unanswered goals in the second, the club’s effort couldn’t be blamed, but the reality is that illness and injuries have caught up with the Senators.

The senators were outshot 16-6 in the second and that was the difference.

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“We had a good first (period) and in the second we just took our foot off the gas, a couple of mistakes hurt us and the ice can tilt,” said veteran defender Michael Del Zotto. “We were chasing the game a bit and it was hard for us to score goals.

‘As much as we can minimize those who are against it, it can certainly help us. The second one got away from us and we just couldn’t get out of it. “

Matthew Tkachuk scored on the power play at 9:18 to extend Flames’ lead to three goals and you have a feeling the Senators are going to have a hard time breaking out of this one. Smith and his staff have been making the most of this team, but it usually comes down to the talent gap.

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Elias Lindholm extended the Flames’ lead to 2-0 at 4:51 of the second. He was able to tip a shot from Rasmus Anderson’s point for Forsberg. Initially, it didn’t look like he had been touched, but after winning the matchup, Lindholm went to the front of the net for his eighth of the season.

It looked like the Senators would come out unscathed from the first period, but Andrew Mangiapane took advantage of Sean Monahan’s shot from Forsberg’s slot at 4:07 p.m. to break the scoreless tie. The Senators had outplayed the Flames and even outshot the club 13 in the first 20 minutes, but they couldn’t beat Vlader.

Senators are really fighting an uphill battle as long as the regular schedule continues. Not only do they have to prepare for the games, they also have to worry about the fact that they may test positive for COVID-19. This virus spreads so easily and we are talking about a group that is fully vaccinated.

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“It’s unfortunate, but as long as the guys are safe, that’s priority number one and after that it’s an opportunity for other guys,” Del Zotto said. “You want the best for the boys with their health and their families, but when it comes to hockey and business, it’s an opportunity for other boys to prove themselves.

“I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. It’s unfortunate that you can’t have chemistry with your teammates up front and especially your teammate on the defensive. We don’t look for the easy way out by sitting here and making excuses. We gave ourselves a chance to win at the end of the first one, we talked about doing the little things well and paying attention to the details that we would give ourselves a chance to win every night.

“Tonight we didn’t do that in the second.”

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