The Ottawa Senators regrouped heading into their second game of the 2024 Prospects Challenge but fell just short of the Pittsburgh Penguins with a final score of 4-2. The team was looking to bounce back from a 9-1 loss against the New Jersey Devils less than 24 hours before.

“When you have a tough start like that, I think you can only go up,” said defenceman Jorian Donovan, an assistant captain for the team this weekend. “For us it was just simplifying our game. Everyone says it’s the key to hockey; when you do too much and try to be someone you’re not, it doesn’t end up working out.”

The Senators showed a visible determination early into the game, as the team was quick to lay their bodies on the line jumping in front of shots and giving the Penguins no space on the ice.

“Yesterday wasn’t the best game from us, so the effort needed to be up today,” forward Philippe Daoust said when asked about the team’s willingness to get in front of shots. “A big thing for us was blocking shots and being better in the D-zone and I think we did that today.”

Forward Oskar Pettersson, a member of the team’s leadership group at the tournament, echoed this sentiment from Daoust. “For me, personally, it was trying to set the tone with my game, play my game out there, play heavy, and just try to have a good response from yesterday’s game.”

The game opened with a scoreless first period, which included an impressive save across the net from goaltender Michael Simpson on the penalty kill.

Things quickly turned physical in the second period, and the game opened up as Ottawa and Pittsburgh combined for a total of five goals in the 20-minute frame.

Ottawa’s first goal came at the halfway point of the second period, as forward Matthew Buckley took advantage of a scramble play in front of Pittsburgh’s net to tie the game at 1-1.

Pittsburgh regained the lead shortly after, but Ottawa responded once more as forward Stephen Halliday received a pass from Ryan Humphrey and buried the puck top corner with just under four to play in the period.

Another impressive save from Simpson, this time with the glove, helped to keep Ottawa in the game towards the end of the second period.

The Penguins added one more with just under a minute to play in the second, and despite a good effort from Ottawa in the third, the Senators fell short of tying the game as Pittsburgh added their fourth into the empty net.

“It was a significant improvement, and that’s what the message was,” Belleville Senators’ head coach David Bell said of the team’s turnaround from yesterday. “The result wasn’t what we wanted, but from where we were yesterday, to rebound and have a game where we still had a chance to win in the last minute of the hockey game is a signification improvement. I think it was a significant improvement systematically, attentiveness to all the details of the game. Whether it was being ready for the start of the game or being ready for a face-off, I think it was a much better game.”

The Senators return to play on Monday at 1:30 p.m. against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the team’s final game to close out the tournament.

Monday’s game will also be livestreamed HERE on the Senators’ website.

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