Ottawa Senators outworked and lose 5-2 to Los Angeles Kings

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The Ottawa Senators got exactly what they deserved Saturday in Los Angeles.

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Outplayed and outworked, they fell 5-2 to the Los Angeles Kings, snapping their modest winning streak at two.

It wasn’t ugly, it just wasn’t good enough.

“It took a bit to get ourselves into the game,” defenceman Travis Hamonic told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson. “We didn’t have enough in the third period. We have to be better. We have to turn the page, we play again (Sunday).”

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“There were a couple of moments where we let up and gave up a couple of goals we didn’t have to,” Senators head coach Travis Green said. “I didn’t think we were great in the first 10 minutes as far as our skating legs, there’s no excuse for that. The final 50 minutes, it was a pretty tight game.”

The Senators stole a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. A loss there and this west-coast trip could have again been disastrous for Ottawa, which plays in Anaheim on Sunday, then returns home.

The Kings took a 1-0 lead 1:57 into Saturday’s game after some sloppy play by the Senators deep in their own end. L.A.’s Alex Laferriere took a shot that became a knuckleball when it deflected off Ottawa’s Jacob Bernard-Docker and floated past goalie Anton Forsberg.

Just after the Senators killed a power play, Tim Stutzle took a cross-ice pass from Drake Batherson and put a seeing-eye shot between the pads of Kings goalie David Rittich with 46 seconds remaining in the first to tie the score 1-1.

Adam Gaudette, with his 12th goal, tipped in a Thomas Chabot shot from the point 6:11 into the second period to give Ottawa a 2-1 lead.

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The Kings tied it a bit more than a minute later after more sloppy Senators play deep in their own end. Kevin Fiala got the goal.

Los Angeles took a 3-2 lead 1:37 into the third period, when Anze Kopitar swatted a rebound over Forsberg’s shoulder.

The Senators had a great chance to tie it again midway through the third, but Rittich slid across the crease to take a goal away from Batherson.

The Kings took a 4-2 lead on Adrian Kempe’s power-play goal with 3:46 left.

With Forsberg pulled for an extra attacker, Trevor Moore scored into the open net with 1:34 left.

TERRIFIC TIM: Senators fans are getting a taste of how good of a player Tim Stutzle has become. We’ve seen the offence before — he had 90 points (39 goals and 51 assists) two seasons ago. Battling some injuries, he took a step back last season, producing 18 goals and 52 assists. In a dynamic start this season, he already has 10 goals and 19 assists in 23 games. His defensive play has improved and he’s stepped up his physicality (he’s already nearing 50 hits; his career-best is 125).

“Any player would be lying if he said he didn’t care about points,” Stutzle said earlier this season. “But, for us, it’s about stepping up and doing the right things. If you do the right things, if you play the right way, if you stay above the puck (in front of it, not chasing it from behind), the points will come. As a young player, it’s important to understand that.”

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So far, so good.

THANK GAUD: The Adam Gaudette story is something they make movies about. Stuck in the American Hockey League for two seasons, he signs with the Senators, nearly gets sent down to the minors again, but makes the most of his opportunity in the National Hockey League.

Like, he’s really making the most of it.

With his 12th goal of the season Saturday, the 28-year-old journeyman has tied his NHL high, set in the 2019-20 season with the Vancouver Canucks.

DUMB, DUMB, DUMB: The Senators took two too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty. Not one, two. The second one came with a bit less than five minutes left in the game, when Ridly Greig jumped on the ice and nobody came off. It was costly, with Kempe’s goal giving the Kings a two-goal lead. Mental errors. Did we mention dumb?

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