One Really Is the Loneliest Number

Mighty Duck defenseman Pavel Trnka let a slap shot fly from the blue line with 3 minutes 15 seconds left in the third period Sunday. Ottawa goalie Patrick Lalime easily got a leg pad on the puck and deflected it away.

So went the Ducks’ best shot on goal in the third period. So went their only shot on goal in the third period.

The Ottawa Senators took a 3-2 lead 47 seconds into the third period, then were content to just smother the Ducks. The one shot tied the Ducks’ record for the fewest in a third period. They went without a shot in the first period against Dallas on Dec. 27, 2000.

“[Ottawa] is the best in the league when they get ahead in the third period,” Duck Coach Bryan Murray said. “They trap very well. You have to make a perfect play.”

Which was beyond the Ducks’ capability Sunday.

“Every time they got in trouble, they iced the puck,” Duck center Andy McDonald said. “Then we would have to start over.”

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McDonald, who missed the three previous games with a concussion, returned to the lineup Sunday and seemed to be up to speed.

“Late in the game, he was the one guy in front of the net,” Murray said. “He seemed to come out fine.”

His playing time was limited during the first two periods, but he assisted on Denny Lambert’s second-period goal. McDonald out-raced Ottawa defenseman Zdeno Chara to the puck in the corner then turned and fired a pass to Lambert, who scored his second goal of the season.

“It felt pretty good out there,” McDonald said. “This was the big test. I started skating Thursday, but I needed to see how I would react in a game. It was tough, but there were no problems.”

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Chris Foster