Yahoo Sports Ottawa Senators Head Coach Travis Green On Thursday's Loss To The Dallas Stars: 'We Got What We Deserved'
Well, that wasn't the best night for Ottawa hockey fans.
At the World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa, Czechia eliminated Canada in the quarterfinals for a second straight year. Meanwhile, down in Texas, the Ottawa Senators were getting outworked and outplayed by the Dallas Stars.
Former Senator Matt Duchene had a goal and an assist as the Stars defeated Ottawa 4-2 on Thursday night at the American Airlines Center. Roope Hintz scored twice for Dallas, and Jake Oettinger only needed to make 12 saves for the win.
Brady Tkachuk had a goal and an assist for the 99th multi-point game of his career. According to NHL.com, that ties Dany Heatley for the fifth-most in franchise history, behind Daniel Alfredsson (281), Jason Spezza (183), Erik Karlsson (131), and Alexei Yashin (129).
The Stars played strong defense in this one, allowing only 14 shots, and rarely this season have the Senators had so little room to operate. Even on the power play, the Stars showed no interest in playing passively. They were in the Sens' faces, attacking and challenging, and Ottawa didn’t handle it well. Dallas led the game 7-1 in takeaways.
Artem Zub returned to Ottawa's lineup after missing five weeks with a fractured foot, but not in the top-four role he's accustomed to. He played just 13:30, the lowest ice time he's had in years, while Travis Hamonic continued to hold Zub’s spot in the top four. Hamonic was on the ice for three of Stars' four goals.
The tying goal bounced in off Hamonic's body, and on the game winner, while trying to dive back into position, he interfered with Leevi Merilainen.
“We got what we deserved. We weren’t good enough tonight,” head coach Travis Green told the media after the game.
The Sens have very little time to regroup. They'll play in St. Louis on Friday night for a back-to-back. Anton Forsberg, who returned from injury on Thursday, will likely get the start – his first in almost a month.
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