3 least impressive Minnesota Wild players from 6-0 loss to Ottawa Senators feat. Mats Zuccarello

A game that began with controversy before the opening faceoff ended up being no contest for the host Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre against the visiting Minnesota Wild.

The Wild were coming off a 4-0 shutout victory over the Montreal Canadiens in what was Quebec native goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's final appearance in his hometown, while the Senators were hoping to win their fourth straight.

They did just that with a convincing 6-0 shutout win over the Wild, improving to 28-20-4, while the Wild fell to 31-18-4.

Josh Norris scored shorthanded for the Senators late in the first period, which was followed by second-period goals from Tim Stutzle and Michael Amadio, taking a 3-0 lead into the dressing room after the first 40 minutes.

The third period was an offensive barrage for the Senators, who got goals from Jake Sanderson, Brady Tkachuk, and Drake Batherson all within two minutes of each other to increase their lead to 6-0.

Minnesota offered little resistance, surrendering 52 shots while firing just 16 of their own.

Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen had a relatively easy night in goal, stopping all 16 shots that he faced to earn the shutout. Meanwhile, Filip Gustavsson did all that he could for his club, making 46 saves on the 52 shots that he faced while getting almost no help from his defense.

The aforementioned controversy stemmed from a handful of Senators fans booing during the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" before the game, which has drawn a polarizing reaction from fans.

3 least impressive Minnesota Wild players from the 6-0 loss to Ottawa Senators

#1. Mats Zuccarello

One of the veteran leaders on the Wild roster, Zuccarello was nowhere to be found on the scoresheet for the Wild, finishing with zero points and only a single shot on goal.

Additionally, he finished with a team-worst -3 rating.

#2. Marco Rossi

Another Wild forward that needed to come through against the Senators, he also went scoreless while finishing with a poor -2 rating.

Rossi, like Mats Zuccarello, and his other teammates, did little to help goaltender Gustavsson and left him out to dry.

#3. Jon Merrill

The Wild defenseman, who has mostly played steadily for Minnesota this season, was not at his best against the Senators, like most of his teammates. He finished with a -1 rating and also committed a trio of giveaways.