There’s just something about these Senators that’s given these Bruins, a team that looks incapable of being slowed down by anybody through the first third and change of the 2022-23 season, issues.

In fact, on Tuesday night, the Senators became the first team to beat theBruins twice this season.

Beating the Bruins followed a familiar script, too, as the Senators were gifted some straight-up outrageous goaltending in their net. They also scored on the power play, and limited the Bruins to just two tallies in this contest, with Boston’s goals coming from Jake DeBrusk and Pavel Zacha in the losing effort.

Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars of the Game from a shootout loss in Ottawa…

No. 3 Star: Alex DeBrincat

Dec 27, 2022; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators right wing Alex DeBrincat (12) scores the winning goal against Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman (1) in a shootout at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers/USA TODAY Sports)

Senators winger Alex DeBrincat certainly brought it to the Bruins in this contest.

On the board with the Ottawa go-ahead goal scored just over three minutes after Jake DeBrusk knotted things up, DeBrincat continued his scoring ways on into the skills competition, and scored the only goal of a six-shooter shootout that saw the Black and Gold go 0-for-3 on Cam Talbot.

In addition to the goal and the shootout winner, DeBrincat also paced the Sens with seven shots on goal, and was Ottawa’s top creator, with eight individual scoring chances and four individual high-danger scoring chances at all-situation play in this contest (both tops among Ottawa skaters), according to Natural Stat Trick.

No. 2 Star: Jeremy Swayman

Dec 27, 2022; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman (1) makes a save on a shot from Ottawa Senators left wing Tim Stutzle (18) in a shootout at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers/USA TODAY Sports)

With miracles happening in the other crease throughout the night — and especially in what finished as a 27-shot third period from the Bruins — Jeremy Swayman had to find that extra gear to make the push worth it for the B’s. And, honestly, the 24-year-old came about as close as you realistically could have hoped for when it came to matching the madness that was happening at the opposite crease.

Tagged for just two goals on 32 shots, it took a ridiculous move from DeBrincat to beat him in the shootout, and Swayman gave the Bruins the chance to tie things up with a top of the third stop on the Sens’ Drake Batherson.

Swayman really did everything he could to will the Bruins to victory in this contest.

No. 1 Star: Cam Talbot

Dec 27, 2022; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators goalie Cam Talbot (33) warms up prior to the start of the second period against the Boston Bruins at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers/USA TODAY Sports)

Well, the good news is that it still takes an awful, awful lot to beat the Bruins. They basically have to get goalie’d, as opposing netminders have combined for a Vezina-level .933 save percentage in Boston’s losses this season.

The bad news, of course, is that Cam Talbot put fourth the goalie’d of all goalie’d performances we’ve seen this season, with stops on 49 of the 51 shots thrown his way on the way to a 3-2 shootout victory over the Bruins.

It was a start-to-finish sensational night for the 35-year-old Talbot, of course, but his best work undoubtedly came in the third period, as he turned aside 26 of the 27 shots thrown his way in the period. It was the most prolific shooting period by the Bruins in over 30 years, and he damn near stopped ’em all. And Talbot’s best work over the course of that period came during a late-game power-play opportunity that saw the Bruins throw their No. 1 unit at the Senators for a full two minutes, and hit Talbot with eight shots in total. He stopped ’em all.

This was a borderline historic performance, in fact.

With 49 saves and just two goals allowed, Talbot became just the sixth goalie in league history to make at least 49 saves and allow two or fewer goals in a start against the Bruins. (Note: The Bruins have been around for almost 100 years. That’s a whole lotta goalies facing a whole lotta great B’s teams over the years.)

In case you’re curious, Talbot’s performance now joins a list of six that includes Pittsburgh’s Casey DeSmith (52-of-52 in an Apr. 2022 win), ex-Maple Leafs netminder James Reimer (49-of-50 in an Apr. 2015 shootout loss), Atlanta’s Milan Hnilicka (53-of-55 in a Dec. 2001 win), the Caps’ Craig Billington (49-of-51 in a Feb. 2000 tie), and Hartford’s Greg Millen (52-of-54 in a Jan. 1982 win).

Overall, Talbot is just the 29th different goalie to make at least 49 saves while allowing two or fewer goals in that outing since the start of the lockout-delayed 2013 season.