Ottawa Senators Get Flying V’d By Mighty Ducks 4-1

It was throwback night as the Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks donned the retro eggplant jerseys, and it looked like the Ottawa Senators were the Icelandic national team on the wrong end of a Flying “V” as the relentless pressure of the boys in purple dominated the game, skating their way to a 4-1  victory.

The Senators looked like a team that was playing their second game in less than 24 hours, with a 5:00 pm local start after finishing the previous game around 10:00 the previous night and then traveling from San Jose to Anaheim.

October 13, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Ottawa Senators right wing BobbRyan (6) scores a goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period at the Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

GAME RECAP

Corey Perry broke the ice on the first shift, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau tying up Ryan Getzlaf on the draw but Patrick Maroon jumped in and centered it to Perry who snapped it past Anderson just 27 seconds into the game. Anderson was in a shooting gallery for the first five minutes, stopping two breakaway and a couple of in-close chances before Getzlaf doubled the lead jumping on a loose puck in the slot and slamming it into the Ottawa goal, forcing Paul MacLean to call timeout and also switch his goalie before the game was five minutes old. Robin Lehner replaced Anderson, but it was more a wakeup call to the team than an indictment of Anderson’s play.  The pressure stayed on the Senators as penalties and tired legs contributed to more chances and the Ducks firing 24 shots on goal to Ottawa’s 12.  However, Ottawa withstood the barrage and in the last minute, Kyle Turris found new linemate Bobby Ryan across the ice for a tap-in goal to make it a one goal game after 20 minutes, a score that flattered the Senators greatly.

Perry restored the 2 goal Ducks advantage when he cruised in and took a pass from Hampus Lindholm at the hash marks and the former Rocket Richard trophy winner made no mistake.   Nick Bonino added to the lead on a solo effort, stepping around Pageau on a faceoff and putting a quick shot past Lenher on the short side. Once again the Ducks more than doubled the Senators in shots (20-7) and the two period total of 44 meant the Senators were in danger of setting a dubious record for shots against in a game.  This time there was no late rally, and after 40 minutes to score was 4-1 in favor of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

The Ducks reached the 50 shot plateau before the third was halfway through, meaning there was going to be a record set as the previous high the Senators had allowed was 50, which was set three times prior, including Saturday night in San Jose.  They ended up with 56, which also set a Ducks franchise record for most shots in a game, eclipsing the previous high of 54.

SENSHOT’S PLAYER OF THE GAME

The only player who stood out for me as wanting to be in this game was Kyle Turris.  He skated well and showed good vision in finding Bobby Ryan for the lone Ottawa goal, and stood out like a sore thumb on a team that looked incredibly tired and sluggish start to finish.

UP NEXT

The Senators have a day off before this six game road trip mercifully comes to an end, a Tuesday night stop in Phoenix to face the Coyotes.