Hard-working Senators deserved better than OT lost to Jets
galchenyuk #galchenyuk
Making his debut in the club’s lineup after being signed as a UFA, Galchenyuk, 26, told reporters he was hungry to make his impact felt, especially on the power play. Well, he made sure they felt it in a big way by firing a blast on a one-timer by Brossoit a 11:47 of the second to give the Senators a two-goal lead.
Unfortunately, an untimely slashing penalty on Austin Watson allowed the Jets to get back into this one as Connor cut Ottawa’s lead to 3-2 after 40 minutes. The Senators outshot the Jets 32-17 after two periods, Murray had zero chance on Connor’s one timer with 1:48 left in the second.
The Senators didn’t have a whole lot to complain about after their first period effort. Not only were they up 2-1 on the Jets on the scoreboard, they outshot Winnipeg 18-9 and owned the play.
Only a late goal by Lowry on a deflection Murray never saw at 18:09 brought the Jets to within a goal. Otherwise, this was a textbook period for the Senators. They did a good job generating opportunities and were everywhere on the ice to try to keep the Jets from getting to the net.
The Senators pulled out to a 2-0 lead on the strength of Tierney’s second of the season. He redirected a tip by Connor Brown on a Nikita Zaitsev shot by Broissot at 10:31. That was Zaitsev’s fourth assist in three games and only had 12 points in 56 games last season.
An area the Senators need to improve this season if they’re to push for a playoff spot is the power play and they cashed in early. Norris’ shot from down low in the right circle beat Broissoit through the five-hole at 3:41 of the first on the power play after the Senators had been all over the Jets was a strong start.
“I was excited, and to be honest, just happy to get it out of the way,” Norris said. “I tried not to get too high. I still wanted to play simple and do my thing. I just wanted to continue to play well.
“It definitely helps. The main thing was I just wanted to shoot the puck. I hadn’t shot the puck well before tonight and I had a lot of good scoring chances and one of the first ones went in. It feels good and I don’t have to think about it.”