The Ottawa Senators couldn’t get enough saves, and they didn’t do enough to save themselves on Tuesday night.

The Senators dug themselves a deep hole and weren’t able to get out of it, as the club saw its three-game winning streak come to a screeching halt in an embarrassing 7-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.

Chicago sensation Connor Bedard completed his first career National Hockey League hat-trick by firing it past Linus Ulmark to give his club a 5-3 lead at 3:46 of the third, and finished with a four-point effort.

Goals by Tim Stutzle, Michael Amadio and Jake Sanderson weren’t enough as the Senators tried to come back from falling behind 4-0 early in the second. Ullmark wasn’t at his best, and that hurt the club.

Ullmark admitted he could have made more stops in the third, but he didn’t feel his team played the right way.

“There was a little bit of immaturity today,” Ullmark said. “It’s not easy winning in this league. You can’t go out there putting up seven two nights in a row and then expect to do it a third time.

“It has to come, especially in back-to-backs; there is a skill to playing in back-to-backs. It’s really tough, especially when you travel as well. And there’s a lot of things today I think that we could have done better. We just have to look at ourselves in the mirror and come to terms with what we did learn from it and move on.”

Green didn’t agree with that asssessment, but understood where it was coming from.

“I know Linus frustrated,” coach Travis Green said when asked about the goalie’s comments. “We’ve had a record of being pretty good at back to back games. It’s our second one this year. We won the last one, but I’m sure he’s a little frustrated tonight.”

There was no point adding more fuel to the fire. Park it, and move on.

GOALS GALORE

The Senators had outscored their opponents 14-3 coming into this game, but got up off the mat after falling behind 4-0 early in the second to pull within a goal.

Three goals in a span of 3:33 by Stutzle, Amadio, and Sanderson brought the club back into this one. Stutzle’s third goal since Daniel Alfredsson told him to change his tape job on Monday had the Hawks on their heels.

Alfie didn’t like the way Stutzle was fumbling the puck. He fired it behind Spencer Knight and went bar down in the process.

With the Hawks knowing they were back on their heels, Chicago coach Jeff Blashill challenged Stutzle’s goal at 8:31 for offside. It’s always a flip of the coin, but it was an odd decision.

“Video review confirmed Stutzle had possession and control of the puck as he entered the attacking zone,” the league said in its decision.

But that was where the comeback stopped for the Senators. They just didn’t have it in them in the third period, and they were dominated.

“We lost 7-3,” Stutzle said. “There’s a lot to clean up.”

AWFUL START FOR SENS

Bedard’s second of the game, only 2:59 into the second, gave the Hawks a 4-0 lead. The Senators looked terrible on that one, allowing Bedard to skate through all five defenders to beat Ullmark.

The Senators had no one but themselves to blame for being down 3-0 after the first. They weren’t ready for this one, and the scoreboard reflected it. You can’t use the back-to-back excuse.

“We got what we deserved tonight. They deserved to win,” Green said. “I didn’t think we were sharp to start the game. I’m not one to make excuses. There are nights where you don’t have it, and we didn’t have it tonight.”

Bedard scored his fourth of the year by going top shelf on Ullmark with 2:07 left in the period. That came on the powerplay with Tyler Bertuzzi battling Sanderson in front.

It was Louis Crevier who gave the Hawks a 2-0 advantage by firing a shot from the boards that appeared to hit an Ottawa player in front at 12:06. The Senators found themselves in a huge hole early.

For the ninth time in 11 games, the Senators gave up the opening goal. It’s an awful trend that needs to stop.

On a delayed penalty, Colton Dach picked up a big rebound from Ullmark and beat him on the stick side at 6:47 of the first. That came on a delayed penalty on the Senators.

RESTED AND READY?

After not even dressing as the backup against the Bruins, Ullmark made his ninth start in the club’s first 11 games. The Senators were hoping the night _ and the rest _ would give Ullmark a mental break.

But it was a plan that didn’t come together. In fact, you could say it failed miserably, and there is a good chance the Senators will never attempt to go that route again. He posted a .760 save percentage in this game.

Ullmark gave up three goals on eight shots in the first period and four on nine shots to allow the Hawks to get out to the 4-0 advantage. The Senators weren’t good in front of him, but Ullmark has to find the consistency that made Ottawa successful down the stretch.

This was Ullmark’s 300th appearance in his career. He came into the game with a 3-1-0 record, a 2.76 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage in five career starts against the Hawks.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com