Senators burned by officials in loss to Canadiens
Four days after mounting a comeback victory over the Montreal Canadiens at home, the Ottawa Senators couldn’t prevent their opponent from turning the tables. Jakob Silfverberg gave the Senators the lead just 1:33 after puck drop, but David Desharnais and Eric Cole responded over the next 10 minutes to lead Montreal to a 2-1 victory at the Bell Centre Sunday afternoon.
Four days after mounting a comeback victory over the Montreal Canadiens at home, the Ottawa Senators couldn’t prevent their opponent from turning the tables.
Jakob Silfverberg gave the Senators the lead just 1:33 after puck drop, but David Desharnais and Eric Cole responded over the next 10 minutes to lead Montreal to a 2-1 victory at the Bell Centre Sunday afternoon.
The game was marred by an absurd performance by officials Greg Kimmerly and Brian Pochmara, who sent a steady stream of players to the penalty box for phantom infractions while missing several egregious ones.
The opening two minutes of the third period were a microcosm of the entire contest. The Senators thought they’d knotted the score up at 2-2 when an Andre Benoit point shot found the back of the net behind Montreal goaltender Carey Price.
The goal was immediately waved off, however, and Silfverberg was pulled from the on-ice celebration and sent to the penalty box for goaltender interference. He appeared to barely graze Price outside the crease, if he made contact at all.
Seconds earlier, the officials stood idle while Ottawa winger Milan Michalek was body-slammed to the ice by Habs defenceman Alexei Emelin.
Coach Paul MacLean was either livid or wary of getting in trouble after the game. He was twice asked about the play, and twice stared in silence for several seconds.
Silfverberg tried to be diplomatic, though he admitted he was surprised to see the goal waved off. He didn’t want to go much further that that, not having seen the replay.
“I haven’t seen it after the game, but from what I feel, I feel like I’m in the white ice, I feel like I’m out of the crease, but you’ve got to trust the refs, and so far that’s what I’ve got to go with,” he said.
The Senators walked away with nothing after another strong performance from goalie Craig Anderson, who came up with 30 saves. He’s now on the hook for two straight losses despite allowing just three goals over that span.
He felt the Senators played well enough to win.
“I think we generated enough (offence),” he said. “I think you guys can fill in the rest.
“We thought we did enough tonight. We played our hearts out.”
Price was sharp at the other end with 32 saves of his own.
This game had all the makings of a low-scoring goalie battle, given how strong Anderson and Price have been since the start of the year.
Anderson, the NHL’s No. 1 star for the month of January, came in sporting a 0.99 goals-against average and just one regulation time loss in seven games. Price was almost as good, going 5-1 with a 1.82 GAA.
So it was a little surprising when each man gave up a goal within two and a half minutes of the opening whistle.
Price was first, failing to stop a Silfverberg power play breakaway that started with a beautiful pass by Senators defenceman Patrick Wiercioch.
He fired a laser beam from deep in his own zone to Silfverberg, who was in the process of splitting the Habs’ defencemen at the offensive blue line. Silfverberg proceeded to roof a shot over Price’s glove for the early lead.
It was short-lived.
Thirty-five seconds later, Desharnais tipped a Max Pacioretty shot between Anderson’s legs after Michalek threw the puck away in the corner.
Erik Cole made the score 2-1 seconds after a penalty to Daniel Alfredsson had just expired, flipping a backhander past Anderson at 11:29 of the first.
The goalies were back to their old selves in the second, slamming the door on a collection of prime scoring chances.
Anderson just managed to get his shoulder in front of a slot backhander by super rookie Alex Galchenyuk (who has seven points in eight games) 11 minutes in, then got his pad down in front of a Desharnais shot on the doorstep.
He was particularly good during a Montreal four-on-three to close out the period, standing tall as P.K. Subban fired several cannons at him from the top of the right circle.
Price made 16 saves of his own in the frame, including one against Alfredsson while he was sprawled out on the ice.
GAME FILE
CHEERS
Max Pacioretty, Canadiens
Pacioretty wasn’t supposed to be in the lineup for another couple weeks after undergoing an emergency appendectomy Jan. 26. Instead, he played eight days later and picked up an assist on the first Montreal goal.
JEERS
Peter Regin, Senators
Regin remains the lone Ottawa forward yet to record a point. Add to that the fact he was the only player on the ice for both Montreal goals and you have to wonder how many more chances he’ll get before spending a night or two in the press box.
WHY THEY LOST
The Montreal Canadiens entered the game 4-0 when leading after one period, and they continued that trend. Rather than building on a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game, the Senators quickly gave up the equalizer and go-ahead tallies. The officiating didn’t help.
GONCHAR GONE
The flu is making its way through the Ottawa dressing room, claiming defenceman Sergei Gonchar as its latest victim. He was a last-minute scratch for this contest, joining former Hab Guillaume Latendresse in the sick bay.
The call on the disallowed goal was a disgrace. Worse still, it was not subject to review. The Sens deserved to get at least a point out of the game.
I am a Habs fan and I agree that disallowed goal for goalie interference was a joke and embarrassment, should have been tied at that point. Good game guys!
I agree, particularly about the lack of a review. The call seemed to be mean spirited, just like some of the soccer, football, and baseball calls I’ve seen. These officials seem to be able to walk away harmless. They’re a discredit to the game, not the people who criticize or shine a light on them, and who have to pay the fine for saying anything. I think both teams would just like to play the game and be the ones to determine the result.
Their were bad calls on both sides,lets not forget the call on the habs for goal tender interference that was nothing more than a player standing in front of the goalie while a ottawa player was pushing from behind!There was a second example where montreal defencemen was clearly hit from behind into the boards and there was no call and a third example where montreal was called for diving while a ottawa player clearly had his stick between his legs.I could go on and on but I wont,suck it up boys!!!!!!!!
Whine, whine, whine. The Senators should remember that a phantom penalty led directly to two of their goals a few days ago. What goes around, comes around. That said, the NHL officiating sucks, and has for years. Never any consistency, players never know what will or won’t be called, and these numerous “phantom penalties” are a problem that needs to be addressed by the league.
Tbis was not a phantom penalty. The game tying goal was disallowed for no reason.
none of the hockey analysts could understand why the goal was called back. Showed on replay, Silfverberg was clearly out of the paint & it was Price who was actually inching forward to Silfverberg. I can understand the occasional goal that gets undetected, but this was blatantly obvious. It is just as Cherry says, Drop the stupid puck & let the boys play some hockey. The game is swiftly becoming a joke. The players are afraid to even make a simple check anymore for fear of their team getting a penalty. Enough is enough already…..drop the puck & back off a bit.
JMO…GO SENS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been a hardcore sports fan my whole life but am fairly new to hockey. Could they not just do some sort of coaches challenge and make their rules more black and white?
the ref actually pointed at the net , signalling goal , then quickly changed his mind . i’ve been watching hockey for 40 years , that call was the worst i’ve ever seen
If that was the worst call you ever seen in 40 years than you must not have been paying attention,do you remember Brett Hull scoring to win the Cup while standing in the crease(back when that rule applied),just a liitle more at stake than a goal that would have tied a game less than 10 games into the season
GO HABS GO
Players incur serious consequences when they make egregious errors on the ice so why does this not apply to the incompetent official who cannot comprehend “goaltender interference.”? Even diehard Habs fans said that an incompetent, biased official determined the outcome of a game. Therefore, why are officials not subjected to the same type of scrutiny and discipline when they make glaring errors like this? The Senators may still have lost the game but when a complete fool makes a totally inane call, which ultimately determines the outcome of the game, the integrity and credibility of the NHL is called into question.
The league should allowed coaches to do a video review if a wave off called for a penalty was a mistake, if the coach wins, its a good goal, if not its a penalty. Why can’t they go upstairs? if I was a coach I would be furious and asked for video review on the play, a ref can make mistakes, its almost as if too bad, good or bad the ref makes the called, really?
I am an avid fan as most of us are. I’ve played hockey and watched hockey for over 40 years but games like this are really trying my patience. I’m torn between watching the game i love or saying enough is enough. It is not just this game, put your stick horizontal and its a penalty. I watched Eric Staal ( a personal favourite) fall down because he felt the stick on the side of his pants. Penalty? Really…. Let them play.
The call against Plekanec for goaltender interference in the first, which resulted in Ottawa’s goal, was only a slightly worse call than that which led to Ottawa’s disallowed goal in the third. In this case, the net result is a wash: Montreal 2, Ottawa 1.
Stop the whining!
To say the Sens were burned by the officials is just incorrect.
On the sole Sens goal yesterday, the same BS goalie interference call was called against Plekanec – it was just as questionable as the one called against the Sens later, except that this call led to a Sens PP and a goal. The “disallowed” goal came on a call that the Sens profited from earlier in the game, so it’s best to stop dwelling on it because it goes both ways. The same questionable interference call that got the Sens a goal ended up costing them a goal, there is no controversy or problem there. The refs called the penalty consistently that game, so stop putting it on a call that helped the Sens earlier and maybe realize you just should have scored more goals, period. Not only that, but in the 5-1 loss against the Sens, the ref truly screwed the Habs over, so stop complaining.
It’s fine to say that the goal should have been allowed, but Ottawa’s only recorded goal came on a PP that should never have been. Plekanec was directed into Anderson by the Sen’s D-man, so that was an incorrect call as well. Add to that the multitude of other terrible calls both ways, and this one can be chalked up to utter incompetence. But Sens fans, please don’t act like you’re the only ones that got screwed. Terrible reffing is a way of life for Habs fans.
Bad call the goal should have counted. However if the game were Refereed properly the Ottawa goal scored while Montreal was short handed wouldn’t have counted. Same penalty and it caused a goal. Neither of them were penalties. But hey listen to the hockey guys and Garry Betman and we find we have the greatest officials of any sport in the world. BS they watch a different game than most of us.
Funny, there is no mention in your article of the fact that Silverberg’s goal came after an equally horrible goalie interference call on Tomas Plekanec resulting in a Sens power play and 1-0 lead. At least make a nominal effort to be balanced and objective if you are going to call yourself a journalist.
I am a habs fan and I think that the Interference call was bogus as well. I think that it was a make up call for the penalty against Plekanec in the 1st. Both of them were not interference and Ottawa benefited from a power play goal so it is even up.
It’s true that Andre Benoit had a clean goal disallowed by the refs on a phantom call….but what about Ottawa’s lone goal scored by Jakob Silfverberg on a phantom call against the Habs?