Anton Forsberg returned to Ottawa for the first time on Saturday night and not only defeated his former team — he shut them out. Forsberg, who spent five seasons with the Senators, stopped all 17 shots as the Los Angeles Kings blanked Ottawa 1-0 at Canadian Tire Centre.
It’s only the second time since October 21 that the Sens have lost a game in regulation, and the 1-0 loss was a far cry from the hockey we witnessed when the Kings visited early in the season last year. The Senators won that wild afternoon game, 8-7 in overtime.
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While Forsberg wasn’t crazy busy, he did hold off a late third-period push by the Senators, which included a clear Ridly Greig breakaway and a 6 on 4 in the final couple of minutes. He got a nice ovation from Ottawa fans after a video tribute during a timeout.
Forsberg waved to the crowd and put his trapper to his heart to say thank you for his time here. After the Senators opted to go with the less expensive and younger Leevi Merilainen this season, Forsberg left in free agency over the summer, signing a two-year, $4.5 million contract with the Kings.
Linus Ullmark wasn’t much busier, facing just 18 shots, but the Kings got the one available good bounce in a tight defensive chess match. Alex Laferriere’s deflection in the first period, off what looked like a harmless point shot, was the only puck to beat Ullmark on the night.
“That was a hard-fought, hard-played game by both teams,” Head coach Travis Green told the media. “Not a lot of space out there either way. Probably unfortunate that we didn’t get a point tonight.”
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While Green felt like the Senators could have done a little better job getting pucks to the net from the outside, it’s easier said than done against a good shot-blocking team like the Kings. But he felt like the Sens created more opportunities than the Kings did.
“The chances are probably 2 to 1 for us. I think we spent twice as much time in the offensive zone as the. It was a pretty good game.”
The victory may have come at a cost for the Kings, who lost Drew Doughty when he took a shot off the top of his skate and left the game.
This was the Senators’ final home game until December 4th. They begin a seven-game road trip on Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
