Jason Spezza And The Stars Win In His Return To Ottawa

In Jason Spezza‘s much-anticipated return to the team he recently captained, the Dallas Stars were the better team, and won by a final score of 6-3. The last two goals were empty-net goals, but the Stars were certainly deserving winners.

GAME RECAP

Early in the game, it was all Dallas. It looked like Ottawa had no business being in the game, and that the night would be very long. Jamie Benn was the first to get one, as he scored an easy power play goal where he was left wide open in front of the net by Cody Ceci. Robin Lehner was left sprawling, but it was hardly his fault.

Just 59 seconds after that, the Stars would strike again. It was an odd goal, that you can’t really blame on any one player. Trevor Daley‘s pass down low went to Vernon Fiddler on the side, and he one time passed it to the middle of the ice where Colton Sceviour was able to deflect it in past Lehner for quite the lucky goal.

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After that, the barrage would continue. On another power play, and old friend scored what seemed to be the dagger early on. No, it wasn’t Jason Spezza, it was Ales Hemsky. He scored on a slapshot from the blue line, and the puck had eyes as it passed through a maze of bodies and Lehner was unable to see it. Despite it being 3-0 so early on, Lehner was hardly to blame for the large deficit.

With 3:58 left in the period, Ottawa got some life thanks to Mika Zibanejad. All of a sudden, the comeback seemed possible. And then, with 1:38 left in the period, the Senators got a break and they went to the power play. They wasted no time, and 8 seconds later Bobby Ryan (who has been on fire) shoved home a rebound to cut the lead to just 3-2.

It was certainly a wild first period, as there were 5 goals scored. Although the first was high scoring, the second was much different. The next goal wouldn’t come until the a few minutes into the third period when Alex Chiasson scored against his former team on a fantastic cross ice pass from Kyle Turris. All of a sudden, the game looked winnable.

However, after that, the Stars turned a corner and got lots of zone time. The game looked like it could be headed to overtime, but with 9:09 left, John Klingberg was able to give the Stars the lead after a giveaway in the defensive zone.

With just 58 seconds left, Ottawa went to the power play and they had some life. However, the Stars would go on to score not one but two empty net goals which were both short-handed. The final score was 6-3 for Dallas, and it was another disappointing loss for Ottawa where Robin Lehner had another up and down performance.

Dec 29, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza (90) skates on the ice prior to the game against the New York Rangers at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

NOTES & OBSERVATIONS

• I’m really glad that the Senators put together a tribute video for Spezza, and that he got an ovation from the crowd. To me, he’s the second best player in franchise history, and he never really got the proper recognition in Ottawa. Even though he’s on the downswing, he’s truly one of a kind and he will be sorely missed.
• If Craig Anderson is out for a long time, Ottawa may slip a bit farther in the standings. While I have lots of faith in Robin Lehner, it’ll be hard for him to get his game back. He has played sparingly this year, and it’s no surprise that he’s struggled. He allowed 3 goals on the first 10 shots, although he was magnificent for essentially the rest of the game.
• Because Alex Chiasson scored and Spezza had no points, that means Ottawa won the trade right?
• Near the end of the second period, it was 3-2 Dallas and the attempts were 34-32 for Ottawa. After that point, it was 33-20 for Dallas. Not exactly a great thing to see that they laid back in the third period.
• How about rookie defenseman John Klingberg? He scored a great game winner, and now has 20 points in 34 games. I wonder if Ottawa asked for him in the Spezza trade but were denied.
• According to Bruce Garrioch, 5 or 6 teams are interested in the services of Chris Neil. If I’m Bryan Murray, I’m shipping him out the second a decent offer comes in.

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UP NEXT

The Senators continue their three game home-stand on Saturday afternoon, as they face off against the Arizona Coyotes for the second time this month.