The Ottawa Senators' ambitious goal of securing a perfect three-game sweep through California was ultimately dashed on Monday night. The team fell short in its final test, suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings at the Crypto.com Arena.
A Tight Contest Decided Late
This marked a missed opportunity for the Senators, who have only managed to sweep all three games in California once in franchise history, a feat last accomplished during the memorable 'Hamburglar' playoff run in February 2015. The game was a defensive battle for the first two periods, leaving viewers on Amazon Prime with a scoreless tie through 40 minutes of play.
The deadlock was finally broken in the third period. Warren Foegele netted his fourth goal of the season at the 5:31 mark, giving the Kings a 1-0 lead. The Senators responded later in the period when Fabian Zetterlund scored his second goal in as many games, tying the contest at 10:49.
Costly Powerplay and a Solid Goaltending Effort
The tie was short-lived, however. The game's turning point came from a powerplay goal by Ottawa native Brandt Clarke with just 6:10 remaining in regulation. The puck took an unfortunate deflection off the skate of Senators defenseman Artem Zub and found its way into the net, securing the win for Los Angeles.
In his first start since November 13th, Ottawa's backup goaltender Leevi Merilainen delivered a solid performance, but it wasn't enough for the win. At the other end of the ice, Kings' netminder Darcy Kuemper continued his personal success against the Senators, improving his lifetime record to 8-3-2 against Ottawa.
Key Takeaways from the Loss
Following the game, Fabian Zetterlund summarized the tightly contested match, stating, "It's two really good teams out there. There was not much going on. We both played a really good game, and then they got the win in the end. It's a tough loss."
The Senators' powerplay struggled, going 0-for-3 on the night against a Kings penalty kill that had not allowed a goal in six consecutive games. Despite outshooting the Kings 21-15 through two periods, Ottawa failed to generate enough high-quality second-chance opportunities, a point of criticism in an otherwise hard-nosed, Western Conference-style game.
The loss extends the Senators' challenging record against the Kings to 3-8-1 in their last 12 meetings, closing out a California road trip that promised more than it delivered.
