THE BREAKDOWN: Senators battle back but come up short in 3-2 OT loss to Bruins

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The Ottawa Senators made their point Thursday night and they probably deserved a better fate.

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You have to give the Senators credit because they gave the best team in the East everything the Boston Bruins could handle, but came up short in a 3-2 overtime loss in front of a sellout crowd of 18,722 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

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Brad Marchand scored the OT winner to secure the win for the Bruins.

Vladimir Tarasenko scored with 3:18 left in the first period when he beat Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman, top shelf on the power play while Thomas Chabot also chipped in with a goal.

“When you leave the rink today you know you gave them a battle,” Tarasenko said. “I thought we played well. This is one of the best teams in the league and there’s still room to improve but I thought we had a good effort.”

It was a hard-fought third period for the Senators. With 6:42 left in the game and Ottawa trailing by a goal, Josh Norris appeared to tie it up, but the officials ruled that Mathieu Joseph had made a hand pass.

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“It was a fast play. I haven’t seen the replay so I don’t really know what happened. I just saw the puck in the air, I just tried to grab it and bring it in front,” Joseph said. “I don’t know if I touched the puck or not. I tried to for sure, I had a little bit of doubt that it was a hand pass at the time.”

The Senators returned home after road victories of the Philadelphia Flyers Sunday and Montreal Canadiens Tuesday. Ottawa came into this game with a 4-1-1 record in its last six games and it finally appears they’re playing the style of hockey that Martin expects.

After a standout effort in the 4-1 win over Montreal, Joonas Korpisalo made his second straight start in the club’s net. He wasn’t tested much in this one because the Senators played well in front of him.

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THE MAN ADVANTAGE

The Senators power play went into this game 2-for-34 in its last 11 games and that’s not going to win you games. The club tried to make changes and Martin stated before the game he feels the players have to get their noses dirty more often.

“We haven’t had enough intensity,” Martin told TSN’s Claire Hanna during a timeout in the second. “We’re looking for a pretty play. We need to have more of an attack mode rather than just moving the puck.”

After not getting many looks on their first four power plays, the Senators got a timely goal on their fifth opportunity late in the second and then Tarasenko tied it in the third.

Chabot took a perfect no-look pass from Drake Batherson and beat Swayman with only 27.5 seconds to cut Boston’s lead to 2-1 going to the third.

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“Early on, the power play was frustrating for us, but we stuck with it and we ended up tying the game with two power play goals,” Chabot said.

OFF THE GLASS

The Senators couldn’t take advantage of a second period opportunity with the man advantage and Swayman made a huge stop on Chabot just as it was about to expire. With the Senators trailing 1-0, the Bruins pulled out to a 2-0 lead on Trent Frederic’s 14th of the year. only moments after the Ottawa power play expired. Korpisalo had no chance on that blast at 8:19 of the second … Korpisalo made a huge stick save on Boston’s Danton Heinen with the club shorthanded in the second. He was able to get across and the shot knocked the stick out of Korpisalo’s hand … This was Boston’s only trip to Ottawa this season. The Bruins faithful showed up in high numbers.

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THIS N’ THAT

It took only three seconds for the Bruins to open the scoring on their first power play. After Charlie Coyle won the faceoff, David Pastrnak fired a blast from the point that beat Korpisalo with 1:24 left in the first. It was only Boston’s third shot … The Bruins recorded the first shot 12 seconds into the game then didn’t have one for another 17 minutes and 27 seconds. The three shots Boston had in the first was the lowest in any period this season … Coyle accused Tim Stutzle of diving after taking a trip call in the first … Swayman came into this one with only nine goals against in his last six starts. He made a huge point-blank stop on Joseph four minutes into the first … C Mark Kastelic, a healthy scratch for two straight, took the place of rugged winger Zack MacEwen. Kastelic dropped the gloves with Boston’s Derek Forbort seven minutes into the first. The officials gave both roughing penalties.

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ON THE TRADE FRONT

There’s been a lot of speculation regarding Tarasenko. Signed to a one-year deal, the 32-year-old is an attractive option for a contender at the March 8 trade deadline.

The Senators could sign him to an extension but Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, hasn’t had those talks.

“I haven’t had a conversation with Vladdy,” Staios said. “With where we are in the standings and him becoming a unrestricted free agent, it’s something we’ll continue to look at.”

There’s been a lot of talk about the future defenceman Jakob Chychrun.

“I’m disappointed that his name is out there,” Staios said. “I think when you have these conversations with other teams, I mean, if I’m on the other side looking at our team, I’m asking about Jakob Chychrun as well, so I’m disappointed for him.

“I guess it’s part of the game, but he’s a great player for us, he’s a great young man and loves Ottawa.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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