More November heartbreak for the Senators as they fall in OT to the Devils

After Thursday’s overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils, a single image told the story.

Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk sat on the bench, his head slumped forward, buried in his gloves.

No doubt Tkachuk was thinking back to the two chances he had in close against goaltender Akira Schmid in overtime, during a 4-on-3 Senators advantage for a full two minutes. Schmid, brought in in relief after starter Vitek Vanicek got hurt, looked to be a sitting duck. The 22-year-old from Switzerland had never won an NHL game, a career 0-4 with poor underlying stats, but he stood tall against the Senators and recorded his first NHL victory while sending Ottawa to its seventh straight defeat.

Nico Hischier got credit for the winner when he was nicked by a Dougie Hamilton blast on the Devils’ brief power play, taking a 4-on-3 with 41 seconds left. Ottawa winger Tyler Motte took the critical faceoff and lost it to Hischier. The Devils ran their win streak to eight games.

Tkachuk lamented what might have been, as he was stymied by Schmid.

“I have an opportunity there to end the game on the power play, and it sucks,” Tkachuk told reporters postgame. “That needs to go in. I need to step up and I didn’t find a way.”

Say this for the Senators, despite their 4-8-1 record: They aren’t pointing fingers elsewhere. After Tuesday’s loss to the Vancouver Canucks, goaltender Cam Talbot accepted blame. Now, Tkachuk is standing up and being accountable.

Does it make things easier – or harder - that the Senators played a great third period, tied the game on Shane Pinto’s second goal, but couldn’t deliver the extra point in OT despite that lengthy power-play opportunity?

Tkachuk called it “top to bottom” one of Ottawa’s best third periods of the season.

“To not get it done in OT is frustrating,” Tkachuk said. “We deserved better.”

Beleaguered head coach D.J. Smith, who received verbal support from general manager Pierre Dorion just four days ago, was visibly upset by the loss. He gave the shortest answers of the season in his media availability after the game.

“We had every opportunity to win the game,” Smith said. “Our power play had every chance. Their guy made the saves and then we take a penalty and they score.”

Party for Pinto

Another reason Thursday’s loss was unfortunate: Rookie centre Pinto could not fully acknowledge the party in the stands that was happening on his behalf. Pinto, who grew up in Franklin Square, N.Y., had a slew of family and friends at this game in the Prudential Center in Newark.

Most noticeably, several of his bodies were dressed in Pinto No. 57 Sens sweaters or the No. 22 UND jersey he wore at the University of North Dakota. Let’s just say his friends were having a good time. And they had lots to celebrate, with Pinto scoring two goals.

Pinto gave his pals a nod of recognition before the game and then put on a show for them.

“A very cool moment, for sure,” Pinto said, afterward. “It’s my first (NHL game in this area) and having family and friends here was cool. I just wish we could’ve won.”

November the cruelest month

November should be a kinder month to the Ottawa Senators.

It is the 11th month of the year, and No. 11 holds a special place in the hearts of all Senators fans.

No. 11 was the number of Daniel Alfredsson, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. Fans in Ottawa would often chant Alfredsson’s name at the 11:11 mark of a period. No. 11 is the first jersey of a modern-day Senators player to be retired.

Oddly enough, Alfie once returned to the lineup from a concussion on Nov. 11, 2011 (11/11/11).

As I write this, it is Nov. 11 and we are thinking of the soldiers who gave up their lives for this country in the two world wars. Lest we forget. That is the reference to 11 that matters most.

The Senators do not play on Remembrance Day. They resume their schedule in Philadelphia Saturday, with a matinee game against the Flyers, who will welcome home their former captain Claude Giroux in a ceremony. Giroux signed with his hometown Senators over the summer and has been everything Ottawa could have hoped for as a player and leader.

And yet, that November curse strikes again. On Thursday, when the Senators fell in overtime to the Devils, it was Ottawa’s seventh straight defeat and the first in extra time this season.

The Senators' overall record falls to 4-8-1, last place in the Atlantic Division.

For the second straight year, November games have brought heartbreak, hockey’s version of the famed "Gales of November" that traditionally strike the Great Lakes.

In five November games this season, the Senators are 0-4-1. Last November, when the club was rocked by COVID-19, the Sens completely fell out of the playoff picture when they ran up a 1-10-1 record.

Combined, the Senators are 1-14-2 in 17 November games in 2021 and 2022.

(Note: There were no games in November 2020 because of the pandemic. The Senators didn’t do any better when the season started in mid-January 2021 – they were 1-7-1 for the month.)

Ottawa has nine games remaining in November to try to turn this trend around.

NHL NEWS

More Headlines

COMMENTS

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.