takeaways: ottawa senators close out november with an ugly loss to dallas stars
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stars 6, senators 1
the ottawa senators’ visit to the lone star state on sunday night was a measuring stick.
they failed to measure up, and it wasn’t pretty.
the senators were hoping to close out their most successful november in five years in style, but dropped an embarrassing 6-1 loss to the dallas stars at the american airlines center.
only jake sanderson was able to score for the senators on dallas goalie casey desmith on the 16 shots the club mustered.
“it definitely wasn’t pretty,” said winger ridly greig, who returned after missing five games with an undisclosed ailment. “i thought we could have had more life tonight. it’s at the end of a road trip here, so we’ve got to find some life.”
jake sanderson of the ottawa senators celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period against the dallas stars at american airlines center on sunday, nov. 30, 2025, in dallas.
sam hodde
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it was the club’s second straight loss on this road trip. ottawa closed out november with a 6-4-3 record, which is the first time they’ve been .500 or better in the month since 2019-20, when the club was 8-8-0.
the stars are one of the national hockey league’s best teams, and they came into this game with an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games. wyatt johnston scored a hat-trick as the senators fell to 2-5-0 in their last seven games versus dallas.
ottawa dropped a 3-2 decision to dallas at home on nov. 11.
get back on track
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coming off a 4-3 loss to the st. louis blues on friday, the senators wanted to get back to playing the way that has made them successful. they want to be better defensively after being on their heels in the third in st. louis.
points are paramount, and the senators can’t afford to let them slip away, especially with the race so tight in the east. the senators woke up outside a playoff spot on sunday after sitting idle on saturday.
ottawa trailed 3-1 after two periods. the stars made ottawa pay for its mistakes with timely goal scoring. johnston gave the stars a two-goal lead at 15:33 of the second.
jamie benn of the dallas stars and tim stutzle of the ottawa senators compete for the puck during the second period at american airlines center on sunday, nov. 30, 2025 in dallas.
sam hodde
/
getty images
sanderson’s fifth of the season tied it up 1-1 at 8:36 when he beat desmith through the five-hole. the celebration lasted all of 44 seconds before jason robertson restored a one-goal lead for the stars.
maverik bourque opened the scoring for the stars at 1:58 of the second. he deflected a shot from the point by linus ullmark, and that’s the 15th time in 25 games this season that ottawa has allowed the first goal.
the senators and stars played to a scoreless tie in the first. ottawa outshot dallas 7-5 in a period in which both teams had a chance on the power play.
it was a perfect road period for the senators. but that’s where it ended, and they didn’t create nearly enough on desmith.
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forwards intact
for the first time this season, the senators had all of their forwards healthy, but that didn’t make any difference.
greig was day-to-day for two weeks, but skated on saturday and centred the club’s fourth line.
ridly greig of the ottawa senators shoots the puck during the second period against the dallas stars at american airlines center on sunday, nov. 30, 2025 in dallas.
sam hodde
/
getty images
he skated with nick cousins and david perron, while lars eller was on the left side of tim stutzle and drake batherson. captain brady tkachuk was with dylan cozens and fabian zetterlund for the second straight game.
the only line that remained together was michael amadio, shane pinto and claude giroux, who have been the club’s most consistent.
coach travis green didn’t wait long to move the furniture around. by the start of the second, tkachuk was skating with stutzle and batherson, but the senators didn’t have much going on.
the senators made a good push, but were 0-for-3 on the power play and had a tough time getting chances on the stars.
“it starts with the powerplay,” sanderson said. “they won the special teams battle. i honestly thought our powerplay kind of drained some of our game, not sharp, not crispy, you never know if we get one on the powerplay we get a little momentum and the game changes.
“that’s on us for sure.”
milestone for ullmark
ullmark made his 300th career start, and this was one he’d just as soon forget.
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his teammates weren’t very good in front of him, and he’s had better performances as well. when jamie benn gave the stars a 5-1 lead, that goal came on the 15th shot that ullmark faced. he surrendered three goals on 11 shots in the first 40 minutes.
he had turned his own game around in november until this night. he came into this game with an 8-4-1 record in 13 starts with a 2.42 average and a .902 save percentage, but took a step backwards.
this was his ninth career start against the stars. ullmark had posted a 3-4-1 lifetime record versus dallas with a 3-4-1 record, a 2.14 gaa and a .928 save percentage.
this seven-game road trip will end in montreal on tuesday night.
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