OTTAWA 鈥� The Ottawa Senators were the first to admit they didn't play well in a 4-0 loss Thursday night.
鈥淚t just wasn't good,鈥� said defenceman Thomas Chabot, who was minus-4 on the night. 鈥淭here's no way around it. Nobody can hide behind anything.
"From top to bottom, the whole team (was) just not good enough. Simple as that.鈥�
The Senators (19-18-3) left the ice to a chorus of boos after the Buffalo Sabres handed them their fourth straight loss (0-3-1).
Ottawa was playing its first game on home ice since Dec. 14 after they were forced on the road for nine games due to the world junior hockey championship. It was hardly the homecoming anyone expected.
鈥淲e've been gone for a long time now, and we talked about it before the game,鈥� said forward Josh Norris. 鈥淲e wanted to come out and have a good game in front of our fans. It's been a while, and yeah, sucks that we didn't do that for them.鈥�
The Senators have now been outscored 15-4 through this losing streak. Ottawa was one of the hottest teams in the league before the Christmas break, but has gone 1-3-1 since Dec. 28.
鈥淚 think our offence is part of it,鈥� said coach Travis Green, adding: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to win a lot of games if you鈥檙e not scoring."
Unsurprisingly, Ottawa鈥檚 top scorers have struggled through this stretch.
Tim Stutzle, who leads the team in points, hasn鈥檛 scored in five games. Drake Batherson is scoreless in his last 10 and Claude Giroux in the last four.
Brady Tkachuk has scored twice through the last five games, but it鈥檚 just not good enough for a team that is pushing for a playoff spot.
Give credit to the Sabres, who made the most of their chances and had a couple fortunate bounces, not to mention a solid 35-save shutout from Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Jack Quinn led the way with a pair of goals.
Quinn buried his first midway through the first period to open the scoring. He made it 2-0 later in the frame, taking a Peyton Krebs pass at centre ice as he stepped out of the penalty box before going bar-down for his seventh of the season.
鈥淚 think my game is to be an offensive producer and score, so some tough times at the start of the year,鈥� said Quinn. 鈥淭hings were feeling a lot harder for me than years before, for some reason. But it鈥檚 nice to see some of the work I鈥檝e been putting in pay off.鈥�
A Nick Jensen turnover early in the second allowed Dylan Cozens to beat Forsberg. Ryan McLeod made it 4-0 midway through the period when his shot went in off Chabot鈥檚 skate.
There was much to like from the Sabres (16-21-5), who are desperate to make ground in the Eastern Conference standings.
鈥淕ot a couple of early goals, played the game the right way, we got some big saves at key times," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "We got some big kills, we didn鈥檛 let their power play get much generated.鈥�
The Senators won鈥檛 have long to ponder this one with back-to-back games on deck this weekend against the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road Saturday before returning home Sunday to face the Dallas Stars.
Noah Gregor added to Ottawa's injury woes. He left the game late in the second after going hard into the boards and was seen limping. Green said 鈥渉e鈥檚 going to be out for a little while.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2025.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press
