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 The Oilers, rooted to the basement of the Western Conference,
wrapped up a six-game homestand with a five-game losing skid,
punctuated by Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
"It wasn't a good feeling at all," said Oilers right winger Nail
Yakupov. "We had a really good opportunity to play six games at
home. We were comfortable to be staying here with our families and
play in front of our fans. But, we won just one game. It's not
acceptable. We've got to (play) harder than that. It's been a while
and everyone's getting really tired of losing and stuff but it's
hard to say. We've got to keep moving forward, we can't give up."
For the Senators, the game allowed them a measure of revenge. Back
on Feb. 4, the Oilers humiliated the Senators in Ottawa, winning
7-2. But thanks to a first-ever NHL goal from left winger Nick Paul
and a 30-save effort from goalie Craig Anderson, the Senators
returned the favor and won their fourth game in a row in the
process.
"That was big for us," said Anderson. "We were embarrassed in our
own building and we weren't happy about it. I think, after that, we
really had to look at ourselves and change a couple of things and
make sure we were on the right page moving forward."
Paul, playing in his fourth NHL game, got his first NHL goal at
12:50 of the first. He was in the right place in front of the Oilers
goal to tap in a rebound off a shot from defenseman Chris Wideman.
"It was awesome," said Paul. "I saw the shot come in and I saw the
goalie come out and I was right at the side of the net with the open
net and the puck just happened to slide right there and it was an
easy tap-in."
Anderson, who was named the NHL's third star of the week Monday,
made a series of saves late in the first period off a goalmouth
scramble to preserve the lead heading into the first intermission.
Two minutes into the second, Anderson was beaten by a tip from
Oilers right winger Teddy Purcell, but was thankful to see the puck
hit the base of the post and stay out.
At 5:53, the Senators made it 2-0 as Smith squeezed a shot through
Talbot on an Ottawa power play. Smith one-timed a pass from right
winger Mark Stone.
For Talbot, it was a cruel end to a sequence which saw him make two
highlight-reel stops. The Oilers, though, couldn't get the puck out
of the zone and the Senators made them pay.
The Oilers got one back with 1:46 left in the period. Moments after
a power play expired, right winger Jordan Eberle beat Anderson off a
rebound.
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At 3:31 of the third period, the Senators restored their two-goal
lead, as center Alex Chiasson converted a pass from center Zack
Smith on a two-on-one rush. That rush came after Oilers defenseman
Justin Schultz mishandled a pass in the neutral zone, and the
Senators then dashed back the other way.
Anderson put an exclamation mark on a fine night when he closed the
pads to stone Yakupov, who had a great close look late in the third
period.
Stone added an empty-netter at 16:39, as Oilers coach Todd McLellan
chose to yank goalie Cam Talbot with almost four minutes left in
regulation.
McLellan didn't mince words when describing his team's slump.
"I'm concerned about our spirit right now," he said. "At the
beginning of the year we talked about how to fight through crap like
this. I have a huge concern because the spirit of the team isn't
where it needs to be. There has to be 10 guys in there that have so
much pride that they pull the rest of the guys along. We'll see what
happens over the next six or seven days. Maybe there are some guys
waiting for that. It's got to get better or we need to make huge,
huge changes."
NOTES: Before the game, Oilers president of hockey operations and
general manager Peter Chiarelli declared that his team, situated in
the basement of the Western Conference, would be "sellers" up to the
Feb. 29 trade deadline. ... Senators RW Mark Stone entered action as
the runaway leader in the takeaway category. He had 97 takeaways, 40
more than Carolina's Jeff Skinner, who held down second place. ...
Senators LW Clarke MacArthur, who suffered a concussion in the
fourth game of the season, is on the road trip and is expected to
play in the coming days. ... Oilers D Jordan Oesterle, who was
called up Sunday from the team's AHL affiliate in Bakersfield in
Calif., made his season debut. ... The Oilers scratched C Anton
Lander and D Adam Clendening. D Eric Gryba was out with a knee
problem. ... The Senators scratched C Shane Prince and D Patrick
Wiercioch.
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