The Ottawa Senators got what they deserved on Thursday night.

The Senators battled back, but came up short in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins to start a two-game road trip at the TD Bank Garden.

Coach Travis Green wasn’t impressed.

“We didn’t have a lot of good players tonight to be honest,” Green said. “I thought we defended fairly well but we spent a lot of time in our zone in the first two periods because we weren’t playing well enough.

“We got beat to a lot of loose pucks. I’m happy that we found a way to get a point against a team that is going well and playing good at home. I liked that we came out in the third period and got back to our game. It was a good point on the road for how we played.”

Pavel Zacha scored with 5.6 seconds left in overtime to secure the two points for the Bruins. The Senators are now 0-3 in OT this season and they learned the hard way you have to battle for 60 minutes.

“It’s not good enough to start,” said alternate captain Thomas Chabot. “The first 35 minutes we didn’t play well, we didn’t win our battles. They won all the puck battles and they wanted it more than we did. It’s as simple as that.

“Good job coming back in the third but we’ve got to be better as a team and be ready right from the get-go as a team to play.”

Michael Amadio and Claude Giroux scored for the Senators in regulation, while goaltender Linus Ullmark had a solid outing, but didn’t look great on the winner.

Giroux tied it up 2-2 on the power play with his third goal of the year at 11:50 of the third. That was exactly what the Senators needed.

Games against teams in the Atlantic Division are more meaningful. These are points you can’t allow to slip away, which is why it was paramount that the Senators didn’t leave this one empty-handed.

This was a difficult, tight-checking affair. The opportunities were limited. But the Senators had to do a better job getting to the net. The action picked up in the third as the Senators played with more urgency to tie it.

“We were probably lucky to only be down one,” said Green. “I thought Boston outworked us for 35 minutes and then we kind of put our work boots on and started to play our game.

“We got a little unlucky to lose in overtime, but that’s overtime.”

Former Senators’ goalie Joonas Korpisalo started for Boston. He came into this game with a 6-2-1 lifetime record versus the Senators with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.

DIVISION RIVALS

This was the second time the Senators faced the Bruins.

Ottawa scored a 7-2 victory over Boston on Oct. 27 at home, but that game was close until the third. The Bruins have won straight since that loss, and are playing better.

Games like this require the Senators to bring out their best. That wasn’t the case for the first 40 minutes. They were down 2-1 to the Bruins and were outshot 18-10. Yes, the Senators were completely outplayed.

These are the games where you can’t afford to make a big mistake.

Sean Kuraly gave the Bruins the lead heading to the third period by firing it by Ullmark high on the blocker side at 16:03. Kuraly was left alone in the slot, and there wasn’t a lot Ullmark could do.

This was a physical game. Tyler Kleven caught Andrew Peeke with a big hit in the second period, which came after Nikita Zadorov delivered a big hit on Tim Stutzle. The Senators need more of that kind of compete.

ULLMARK ON DUTY

The club’s top goalie started for the 12th time in 14 games.

Facing his former team, Ullmark came into this game with a 5-4-2 record in 11 games with a .861 save percentage and a .3.41 goals-against average. TSN noted that of the 17 goaltenders with at least 10 appearances this season, Ullmark has the worst GAA and the second-worst save percentage.

Morgan Geekie tied it up on the 10th shot Ullmark faced by picking up the rebound of a shot that went right through him at 1:22 of the second.

Ullmark has come under fire for his slow start to the season. He’s trying to tune out the noise, but even he knows the best way to silence the critics is to give his club a chance to win.

He provided the Senators with that opportunity.

DO IT FOR DAD

There was a little extra motivation for the Senators with the fathers along for the ride. Sixteen parents or mentors accompanied the Senators on this trip, and a win would be a nice way to kick it off.

If nothing else, the Senators were efficient in the first 20 minutes. The club was outshot 9-2, but led 1-0. It’s the first time in franchise history the Senators have led after the first with two shots or fewer, according to TSN stats guru Jon Perlberg.

It’s only the fourth time this season the Senators have led after the first, and only the third time in 14 games they’ve opened the scoring.

Amadio scored his third goal in four games after taking a pass from Pinto and firing it by Korpisalo on the glove side on the club’s first shot at 5:42. That had to give Ottawa some confidence.

Fortunately, Amadio’s father, Paul, got to enjoy that one from a private box.

“I thought we got out to a great start,” Amadio told TSN’s Gord Miller. “It’s nice to get one early and start with the lead for once.”

The Senators will face the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at 1 p.m.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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