By Luke Peristy





What a difference one game makes. Six days ago, Sens fans were lamenting a team that looked listless and uninspired and couldn't even beat Edmonton at home. "Woe is us!" came up the cry. "The Red Wings are going to extinguish us like so many Detroit streetlights!" said the voices in the wilderness . Even the promotion of Mika Zibanejad from Binghamton was met with general apathy and a lack of enthusiasm.





Then, just as expectations were falling faster than Bobby Ryan riding a net , Ottawa played their most inspired hockey of the year. Wednesday's 6-1 victory restored hope, helped everyone work out their feelings about Alfie, and also reminded the league that the Senators can play some pretty damn good hockey if they're in the mood. It helped that Detroit choked like Rabbit , but as Eric Gryba once told me, don't look a gift German Shorthaired Pointer in the mouth.





Tonight, the Senators looked to build on their momentum against the Anaheim Ducks. Unlike when Ottawa and Anaheim played two weeks ago, the shotgun shell was in the other barrel (another one of Gryba's weird metaphors), as it was the Ducks who were playing their 3rd game in 4 nights while in the middle of a long road trip. This would be a good chance for Ottawa to take their revenge for the 4-1 beating that Robin Lehner called, " A Beautiful Death ".





Here are my game notes.

1st Period

20:00 - Ottawa starts Anderson in net while Anaheim starts Andersen in net. "I hope Anders'n gets destroyed tonight," says Robin Lehner, somewhat ambiguously.



18:25 - Tonight's first line appears to be Michalek - Spezza - Greening. Paul Maclean clearly still trying to find the catalyst to get Spezza's line going. If only there were some sort of established goal scorer he could put on Spezza's right wing.



14:30 - Colin Greening can't bury a chance in the slot. A few minutes later, Mika Zibanejad suffers the same fate. Paul Maclean starts humming "The Wheels on the Bus" after Zibanejad finishes his shift. Zibanejad tries to ignore him.



12:25 - Maroon takes a pass from Perry and fires the puck past Anderson. "MAROON 5!" yells Maroon as he raises his hand in celebration. "We told you, we're not doing that!" says the rest of his team as they skate away awkwardly. 1 - 0 Ducks



9:01 - Chris Neil takes a goaltending interference penalty after gently mugging Andersen. The crowd is clearly incensed as a scandalized murmur rips through CTC. The Sens manage to kill off the penalty.



4:16 - Clarke MacArthur breaks in on a rush but can't score. "The Clarke MacArthur Experience live and in concert! Enjoy the show!" shouts my Leafs fan friend as I rush him out of the house.



2:22 - Erik Karlsson makes a giveaway behind the net that's so brutal, The United Nations issued a formal reprimand against it. (Russia voted against the resolution, for some reason.) Ryan Getzlaf is there to bury the puck in the ensuing chaos. 2 - 0 Ducks





1st Period Impressions: The 1st period seemed pretty even except on the scoreboard, as a weak goal allowed by Anderson and an uncharacteristic giveaway by Karlsson are the difference right now. The Senators' -2 penalty differential is not helping matters either. Frankly, I'm surprised the team didn't get up for this game against Silfverberg the same way they did for a game against Alfie.





2nd Period

14:30 - Marc Methot dumps an Anaheim player behind the net with great authority. I notice this because it's the first thing Ottawa has done with any authority so far during the 2nd period.



12:41 - Mika Zibanejad draws a penalty from Koivu. "Your powers are weak, old man!" yells Mika. "If you strike me down, you will draw a retaliation penalty," responds Koivu, who apparently is not much of a Star Wars fan.



10:56 - Mika Zibanejad skates to The Alfie Spot ™ on the power play and rips the puck past Andersen. The crowd goes wild. "Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!" yells Bobby Ryan during the celebration. 2 - 1 Ducks



10:49 - Chris Neil takes a roughing penalty. Derek Grant almost immediately gets a shorthanded 2-on-1 with Erik Condra, but nothing comes of it. "Gotta keep giving those young guys opportunities. You know, leadership and everything..." mutters Neil as he sits in the box.



5:50 - Eric Gryba has the puck stolen by Corey Perry, but Perry's shot is saved by Anderson. Gryba also takes a hooking penalty on the play because he's got a reputation to live up to or something.



2:55 - Sportsnet displays a helpful graphic that says Ottawa has 9 turnovers to Anaheim's 0. I don't even know why I'm bothering to write anything else, because that pretty much tells you everything you need to know right there.





2nd Period Impressions: Anaheim's playing a perfect road game so far, and that's been bad for Ottawa. That said, the Senators still have a chance to take advantage of what must be a tired Ducks team in the 3rd. You can tell they're tired by the way they keep on moving players from the front to the back when they execute The Flying V.





3rd Period

17:18 - Zack Smith draws a hooking call, making the penalty differential 17-3 (projected) in favour of the Ducks.



16:36 - Clarke MacArthur can't bury a chance in close. "White jersey, white knuckles," he says after he's asked if he's gripping the stick to tightly.



8:58 - Milan Michalek draws a tripping penalty after some good pressure by Ottawa. Paul Maclean puts out Karlsson, Spezza, Turris, Ryan, and McArthur on the powerplay. This is known as "The Nuclear Option" in games in which Matt Kassian is not dressed. In games in which Matt Kassian is dressed, this is known as "The Other Nuclear Option."



7:25 - Bobby Ryan has a glorious chance on a tip in the slot but fails to slip it in. #MulletAfterDark



28. 6 - Anderson is pulled. Giveaways graphic now reads 16-2. I am not drunk enough for this.



2 - 1 Ducks, Final

Closing Thoughts

In what's becoming a bit of a trend, Ottawa made things difficult on themselves by failing to take care of the puck and failing to stay out of the box. Ottawa occasionally showed promise on offense, but Anaheim won this game by not losing it, whereas Ottawa lost the game by, uh, losing it.



The Sens are in action this Sunday at 5 PM for what I'm told is a hockey game, but suspect is actually a dinner party, because who plays hockey at 5 PM on a Sunday?