Despite the fact that the odds were certainly not in the Ottawa Senators' favor, head coach D.J. Smith wasn't looking for excuses following his team's 7-5 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night.

"A lot of good battle, a lot of really poor decisions with the game on the line," Smith said postgame. "It's an unacceptable loss ... We give up the game-winning goal with 1:33 to go and that's 100% on us."

The Senators mostly held their own during a back-and-forth affair in Denver against an Avalanche team that had won four straight heading into the contest. Ottawa forward Zach Sanford recorded a hat trick, but it wasn't enough to overcome errors the team made in the final period.

Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen scored on the power play shortly after the Senators fanned on a clearing attempt to tie the game, while Alex Newhook delivered the final dagger thanks to a turnover.

On top of that, Senators defenseman Josh Brown exited during the first period with an upper-body injury.

"We did a lot of great things. We worked hard playing with five D for the majority of the game after coming off from the amount of time we had off, but we're going to hold ourselves to a higher standard," Smith said. "We've got to find ways to win games. ... Made two major mistakes in the third period and you lose the hockey game."

The Senators were just returning from a week-long layoff following a COVID-19 outbreak, during which 10 players and associate coach Jack Capuano landed on the NHL's protocol list.

The league decided on Nov. 15 to postpone three of the Senators' games to help control the outbreak. Prior to Monday's contest, the Sens last suited up for a game Nov. 14, an ugly 4-0 loss to the Calgary Flames.

Ottawa's next chance will come Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks. The Senators are currently in the league's basement with a 4-11-1 record.

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