The Ottawa Senators' hopes of completing a perfect three-game sweep through California were dashed Monday night as they fell 2-1 to the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.
Costly Bounce Seals Senators' Fate
The game's turning point came with just 6:10 remaining in the third period when Brandt Clarke, an Ottawa native, scored what would become the winning goal on the power play. The puck took an unfortunate deflection off defenseman Artem Zub's skate and past Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen.
This marked only the second time in franchise history that Ottawa had the opportunity to sweep all three California games, with the last occurrence happening during their memorable Hamburglar playoff run in February 2015.
Merilainen's Strong Effort Wasted
Backup goaltender Leevi Merilainen, making his first start since November 13th, delivered a solid performance between the pipes. Despite facing 26 shots, Merilainen kept the Senators in contention throughout the game.
The contest remained scoreless through two periods, with Amazon Prime viewers witnessing a defensive battle that saw Ottawa go 0-for-3 on the power play against a Kings penalty kill that hadn't allowed a power play goal in six consecutive games.
Zetterlund Provides Lone Offensive Spark
Fabian Zetterlund provided Ottawa's only offense, scoring his second goal in as many games at 10:49 of the third period. Zetterlund capitalized on a rebound and beat Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper to temporarily tie the game 1-1.
Earlier in the period, Warren Foegele had broken the deadlock with his fourth goal of the season at 5:31, beating Merilainen on the Kings' 18th shot of the game.
Rookie center Stephen Halliday experienced a welcome-to-the-NHL moment in his second career game when he was slammed hard into the boards by Sam Helenius late in the first period, requiring a trip to the locker room for treatment.
The loss extends Ottawa's struggles against Los Angeles, as the Senators now hold a 3-7-1 record in their last 11 meetings with the Kings. Kuemper improved his lifetime record against Ottawa to 7-3-2 with the victory.
