SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Hockey
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
COLUMNS
NHL
The Teams
Full Schedule
Monthly Schedule
Standings
Statistics
Rosters
Injury list
Movement
Trades
Hits Gallery
INTERACTIVE
JUNIOR
MORE HOCKEY
ALSO ON SLAM!
Sunday, November 21, 1999
Sens know the score
Goal-scoring woes continue as Ottawa drops third straight
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Senators have had so little to celebrate lately, you couldn't blame Kevin Dineen for getting excited.
There he was in the third period of yesterday's 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, standing in the middle of the ice pumping his fist in the air in full celebration, when he came to the realization it was a false alarm.
"It was an optical illusion," smiled Dineen meekly. "I've played 1,000 games in this league and I don't think I'll ever have any problem picking out my most embarrassing moment because I think I've just had it.
"I thought it was in. I really did."
While Dineen was able to laugh after he believed a puck that bounced off the back twine behind Devils' goalie Martin Brodeur was in the net, the Senators' longest losing streak of the season is no laughing matter.
Ottawa's fourth defeat in its last five games in front of 15,027 at Continental Airlines Arena was typical of the way it's gone for the Senators lately -- they simply couldn't score when they needed it most.
MUST KEEP WORKING
"We've lost four of our last five games and in those four games, we've scored one goal," said Senators goaltender Ron Tugnutt. "In the one game we did win (against Anaheim) we scored four goals. It's just not going in for us right now.
"We've got to keep our heads up. We're struggling offensively and we've just got to keep working. We can't worry about this. It's too bad, because we got an ugly one (from Magnus Arvedson) to start and I thought that was just what we needed. But it stopped right there."
Yes, it looked like it was going to be a wonderful afternoon when Arvedson opened the scoring with his sixth of the season only 41 seconds into the first period. It was purely accidental.
Chasing a loose puck in the New Jersey zone, Arvedson fired a shot that bounced off Brodeur's blocker and into the net from a bad angle. Unfortunately, that's where the Senators' good luck stopped.
Brodeur stopped everything else -- including a chance by Andreas Dackell to tie it up on a perfect pass from Patrick Traverse as the Senators pressed to send the game to overtime in the third period.
"I couldn't believe (Brodeur) was able to get his toe on it," said Dackell. "It was the perfect pass and it was an unbelievable save, but that's just the way things are going for us right now. We can't get down about it.
"We know we're a good team and that if we keep working, then eventually the puck is going to start going in for us. It's frustrating because we're getting lots of chances, but it would be even worse if we weren't getting the chances. That's why we have to keep working."
In the final analysis, Brodeur -- who didn't win a game against the Senators in three starts last season -- was the difference by making 29 saves.
"There was nothing different today than we've seen from Martin Brodeur all season," said New Jersey coach Robbie Ftorek. "That's just the way he's been playing all year. He's just going out there and stopping the puck.
"He's started by getting confidence from stopping the puck in practice and that just carries over into games for him."
 Bert's back on blades Blue Jays boot game Bombers drop Peterson Felicien rebuilds race | Visit our Polls Archive |