Senators let one slip away against Bedard and the Blackhawks

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HAWKS 3, SENATORS 2

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The Ottawa Senators blew a chance to get two points in the Windy City.

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After firing 42 shots at goaltender Petr Mrazek, the Senators dropped their second straight with a 3-2 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Senators have lost 11 in a row to the Hawks and haven’t beaten them since a 4-3 win on Dec. 16, 2016, but Jason Dickinson game-winner with 1:52 left in the third period assured that tradition would continue.

Coming off a horrible 5-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday at home, the Senators were hoping to bounce back with a better effort, but it was still a surprise to see interim head coach Jacques Martin go back with Joonas Korpisalo against the Hawks.

Everybody in front of Korpisalo was bad against Anaheim, but he wasn’t much better and had to shoulder as much responsibility as everybody else for the way Ottawa’s four-game losing streak came to an end.

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On Saturday, he allowed three goals on 22 shots against Chicago and that was the difference.

Only Tim Stutzle and Jakob Chychrun were able to score for the Senators, who were tied 2-2 heading into the third.

“You always want those ones. I thought we played a really good game and came up short,” Chychrun told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson. “I guess you’ve got to build off the positives. But it would have been nice to have that one.”

Martin said he was pleased with the club’s effort, but the Senators are still making defensive mistakes that landed in their net.

“I thought it was a step in the right direction, but we didn’t get the result we wanted,” Martin said. “It was a much better effort than our last game so we’ve just got to build on that.”

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BEDARD HAS A DAY

Connor Bedard, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 National Hockey Leagiue draft, had a two-point effort and nearly three for Chicago.

Back after his jaw was broken in a Jan. 5 game against the New Jersey Devils, he had a goal and an assist.

Bedard looked like he had given the Hawks a 3-2 lead with 7:40 left in the third, when he jumped on a giveaway by defenceman Artem Zub and made a nifty move to beat Korpisalo.

But the Senators challenged it right away and it was ruled the play was offside.

“I wasn’t too excited when it went in,” Bedard said. “I was just waiting for the review.”

He’s wearing a full visor after receiving clearance to suit up for the 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Ottawa players were impressed with what they saw in Bedard in his 18 minutes, 17 seconds of ice time.

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“He’s a really special player who’s got a really bright future in this league. It seems like he can score whenever the puck is on his stick,” Chychrun said.

OFF THE GLASS

Mrazek made an incredible poke check on Zub early in the third period to keep Ottawa from taking the lead. Mrazek was a big reason the Hawks were in this one  … The Senators outshot the Hawks 29-14 through 40 minutes and were tied 2-2. They had 22 shots in the second period alone … Former Ottawa assistant Luke Richardson is behind the Chicago bench as head coach and Chychrun had some praise for his uncle after the second period. “Uncle Luke has got them playing well,” Chychrun said … A turnover by the Senators at their own blue-line set Bedard up to fire the puck through Korpisalo at 10:54 of the second period. It wasn’t clear if Korpisalo was screened, but he had to stop that one … The Ottawa power play has struggled mightily, but it came through in the second period, when Chychrun gave the Senators a 2-1 lead at 8:13. Vladimir Tarasenko made a great pass to Chychrun and he fired the puck by Mrazek glove side … That atoned for a terrible look on the first power play of the game only 37 seconds into the second period after Tyler Johnson tripped Drake Batherson. The Senators had only two shots and Chicago had the best chance, but Dickinson hit the post. The Senators came into this game 2-for-18 on the power play in their previous five contests.

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THE FINAL BUZZER

Stutzle tied it up 1-1 with his first point in five games. On a 2-on-1, Stutzle took a feed from Claude Giroux and tapped the puck by Mrazek at 15:57 of the first period. Giroux did a great job stretching to grab Stutzle’s initial pass on the rush. “We doubled their shots and still got out of with a loss,” Stutzle said. “We deserved better tonight. We had a lot of guys playing good hockey” … The Senators allowed the first goal for the sixth consecutive game … Hawks forward Nick Foligno, selected No. 28 overall by Ottawa in 2006, opened the scoring at 13:29 of the first period with his 12th goal of the season. Phillipp Kurashev’s pass deflected off Foligno’s skate and into the net. It looked like Foligno moved his skate to redirect the puck, but the Senators didn’t challenge … With Jake Sanderson and Zub back on defence from unspecified ailments, the Senators scratched Jacob Bernard-Docker … The Senators are 1-12-0 in their past 13 at Chicago’s United Center. There’s always next year.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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