The Ottawa Senators will celebrate Thanksgiving Monday and look to get back on the winning track with an afternoon contest against the Los Angeles Kings.
Ottawa returns home after falling to Montreal Saturday 4-1 in its first road game of the season. The Canadiens led 3-0 in the third period before Tim Stutzle’s third goal of the season got the Senators on the board with 14:30 remaining in regulation, but it was not enough to jumpstart a rally.
Brady Tkachuk, who along with Nick Jensen assisted on Stutzle’s goal, said after the game that the Senators failed to assert themselves near the goal, allowing Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault to stop 24 of Ottawa’s 25 shots.
“We didn’t have enough traffic, didn’t have enough inside play,” Tkachuk told NHL.com. “(Montembeault) made some good saves, but we need to do a better job. I know we had a couple of tips, but we need to make that more of our identity instead of outside shots and playing the perimeter.”
Linus Ullmark, whom Ottawa acquired from the Boston Bruins in the offseason, made 22 saves in the loss. He made 31 saves against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in a 3-1 victory in Thursday’s season opener.
Los Angeles also lost on Saturday, but the Kings managed to earn a point in the 2-1 overtime defeat against the Bruins. Trevor Moore put the Kings on top with a wrist shot past Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman with 14:38 left in the second period. The Bruins tied it up with 3:10 remaining in the period on Elias Lindholm’s second goal of the year, and David Pastrnak won it for the home team with his third goal of the season coming with 1:53 left in the extra session.
Despite the loss, Kings coach Jim Hiller thought the team played a better game than in the season opener Thursday at Buffalo. Los Angeles needed a third-period hat trick from Anze Kopitar to skate out with a 3-1 win over the Sabres.
“It’s a hard game in this building,” Hiller told reporters in Boston. “If people understand what it’s like to be in the room, go out that crowd and play a physical Boston team. It is not going to look like a Picasso ever. You go to work here, and I was really proud of our guys for doing that.”
Darcy Kuemper continued the solid start to his time in the Los Angeles goal by making 23 saves on Saturday. The 13-year pro, who won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022, has a .948 save percentage in his first two games with the Kings.
“When we need a save, (Kuemper’s) been there, and he’s been probably our best player the first two games,” Kings defenseman Kyle Burroughs told NHL.com after Saturday’s game.
Los Angeles will play the third of seven games on the road to start the season because of renovations at its home arena.
Monday’s game will be the first of three in four days in Canada before returning to the west to play at the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights. The Kings will have their home opener on Oct. 24 against the San Jose Sharks.
–Field Level Media
