Senators Make NHL History with Defensive Masterpiece Against Rangers

The Ottawa Senators achieved a historic defensive performance Monday night, limiting the New York Rangers to just nine shots on goal in a 2-1 victory. The feat marks the fewest shots allowed by any NHL team since 2003, accomplished despite playing with only four defensemen for most of the game due to injuries.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ottawa Senators goaltender James Reimer spent Monday night waiting for the New York Rangers’ offensive attack to materialize at Madison Square Garden.

It never came.

When the final buzzer sounded on the Senators’ 2-1 victory, the Rangers had managed a mere nine shots on goal — setting multiple records in the process. The performance represented Ottawa’s franchise-best defensive showing, New York’s weakest offensive output since 1955, and marked the first time any NHL team had been held under 10 shots since 2003.

“The boys played great,” Reimer commented after the victory.

The defensive achievement became even more remarkable considering Ottawa lost two defensemen to injuries during the contest, forcing them to play most of the game with only four blue-liners. Thomas Chabot departed in the closing moments of the opening period after Rangers captain J.T. Miller struck his right arm with a stick, while Lassi Thomson suffered an undisclosed lower-body injury in the second period during his first NHL appearance since November 25, 2022.

“Whenever you get down to four D-men and you find a way to win, it’s a gutsy effort,” stated Warren Foegele, who netted his fifth goal in nine contests since arriving from Los Angeles in a trade deadline deal. “The whole group stepped up when those guys went down.”

Head coach Travis Green indicated both Chabot and Thomson will “both be out for a while,” with the team planning to summon two replacement players Tuesday before facing Detroit in a crucial Eastern Conference playoff race matchup.

The Senators were already missing two key defensemen, with Jake Sanderson potentially sidelined for another week and Nick Jensen rehabilitating from knee surgery.

With the depleted roster, Jordan Spence logged a personal-best 26 minutes and 44 seconds of ice time. Tyler Kleven contributed 24:30, Artem Zub played 23:44, and Nikolas Matinpalo skated 18:19.

“With two defensemen going down, guys have to step up, play a lot more minutes than they’re used to,” Green explained. “Give them all credit. They played a hell of a game back there.”

Spence remained unaware of his extensive playing time, focusing instead on Chabot’s injury.

“Chabby just doing how well he was doing and seeing that, it’s unfortunate,” Spence reflected. “We’re trying to win a game, so we kind of had to forget about that and try and do the best we can.”

Ottawa became the first franchise since the salary-cap implementation in 2005-06 to restrict an opponent to single-digit shots. The last occurrence happened when New Jersey limited Washington to nine shots on December 4, 2003.

Shot totals weren’t officially recorded by the league until the 1959-60 season. New York’s record books show their previous low of nine shots in a Detroit loss on December 11, 1955.

“They were better than us,” Miller admitted following the disappointing performance that overshadowed teammate Mika Zibanejad’s 1,000th regular-season game celebration. “We just didn’t have it. I don’t know what to say. We got outplayed, got outcompeted — things that we’re just not OK with as a group.”

Since beginning their playoff push on January 25, Ottawa has surrendered the fewest shots in the NHL at approximately 21 per game. They permitted just 14 shots while defeating Toronto on Saturday and 19 against the New York Islanders on Thursday.

“That’s part of our structure,” Spence noted. “That’s part of our identity, so we have to keep that going in order to win games.”

Despite needing only eight saves for the victory, Reimer admitted the quiet evening presented unique challenges.

“These games are a lot harder than a 30- or a 40-shot night,” he explained. “You’re not in a rhythm. You’re not feeling it. It’s not just happening, so you’ve just got to trust it and trust that your body knows what it has to do when the time comes. It’s a difficult game as a goalie to play mentally, but you just trust it.”