"They'll be kicking themselves about this one. After playing one of their better games for the first 30 minutes, and even shooting to a 3-1 second-period lead, the Ottawa Senators let it slip away on Saturday, losing 4-3 to the Montreal Canadiens on a late goal by Tomas Plekanec. Next up for the Senators will be the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night. Maybe they'll have better luck against an Atlantic Division team. The Senators have yet to beat a team in the Northeast Division, losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Buffalo Sabres and the Canadiens. Squandering those points could prove costly later in the season. Brian Gionta, Jeff Halpern, and Andrei Kostitsyn also scored for the Canadiens. Milan Michalek had two goals for the Senators, while Erik Karlsson scored his first of the season. Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza each had two assists. Montreal netminder Carey Price faced only 19 shots, while Ottawa Brian Elliott, who missed almost five minutes of the third period after a skate broke on his way to the ice from the dressing room to start the frame, faced 37. That brief absence allowed Swedish rookie Robin Lehner, called up from Binghamton of the American Hockey League after Pascal Leclaire injured a groin in Thursday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes, to make his regular-season debut in the National Hockey League. He remains flawless after making three saves. Alfredsson was seething about the loss. "It's obviously very frustrating to lose this one," the Senators captain said. "Playing as well as we did in the second (period), we had all the momentum. Then they get a good break off a skate on their second goal and fight their way back in. "Third period was pretty even. They make the most of a turnover and pounce on a loose puck. It's a tough loss for us." Coach Cory Clouston saw it as two different games. "We got up 3-1 and then completely changed our game, for whatever reason … I don't know," he said. "Give Montreal credit. They came hard on us. I don't know if we thought it was going to be easy, that they were just going to give us the two points, but it was a completely different game from our perspective, the second half." Elliott said he felt good in net, the broken skate notwithstanding, but felt as frustrated as Alfredsson." http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/hockey/ottawa-senators/that away/3683319/story.html
