Ottawa Senators Buck The Trend, Win 2-1 In Carolina

Going into Carolina, you’d forgive even the most hopeful of fans having doubts about the Ottawa Senators being able to grab two points. After all, the Sens were 1-10-1 in their last 12 trips to Raleigh. But lo and behold, grab two points they did, in large part thanks to Andrew Hammond, who tied an NHL record for allowing just two goals or fewer in each of his first 12 career starts.

GAME RECAP

The Hurricanes always seem to give the Senators trouble, and tonight the first period was no exception. Things got off to a feisty start when Mark Borowiecki dropped the gloves with Carolina’s Brad Malone, but after that the Senators occasionally struggled to keep up. When they did get going, Anton Khudobin, who came in to the game with a record of 5-0-0 and a save percentage of .949 against the Senators, was there to shut the door with some stellar saves.

Milan Michalek would be robbed at least twice in the game, and he wasn’t the only one left looking skyward after Khudobin managed to stone them. Then, at 12:59 of the period, Elias Lindholm would elude a back-checking Curtis Lazar and take a great cross-ice pass from Jeff Skinner and bury it behind Hammond to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead after the opening period. Carolina ended up dominating the Senators in shot attempts at 23-11 in the first, despite the shots being only 9-7 in favour of the Hurricanes.

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The second period saw the Senators take the play to the Canes, as Ottawa outshot them 16-6 and had 28 attempts to the host’s 12. However, Khudobin continued to steal the show. Eventually, Ottawa got a 5 on 3 power play after Malone high-sticked Lazar and Justin Faulk, who overall played a very good game, shot the puck out of play in his own end with 23 seconds remaining in the first call.

Just as the Malone penalty expired, Patrick Wiercioch took a feed from Erik Karlsson and ripped it home for his second goal of the season. It was also Wiercioch’s 4 point in the past 5 games, as he has consistently looked good in a top four role alongside Cody Ceci. After 40 minutes of play, things remained tied 1-1.

After dominating possession in the middle frame, the Senators looked sluggish again for long stretches as Carolina took control and outshot Ottawa 18-7 and had 28 attemps to the Sens’ 17. This is where Hammond really shone, as he burgled the Canes left and right. His cross-crease glove save on Jordan Staal was probably his best of the night.

Not to be outdone, Khudobin was able to match him when required. Blood pressure was high too as Mike Hoffman and Ron Hainsey wrestled each other to the ice early in the period and were each assessed a minor penalty for roughing (this after Hoffman got away with a slash on Hainsey in the second). Later in the period, Michalek would get into a shoving match with the diminutive Nathan Gerbe beside the Ottawa net, and both were sent to sit for two minutes. By the end of the third, nothing had been settled so the Senators headed to overtime for the second game in a row.

In the extra frame, play was sloppy, though the Senators had the edge in attempts with 8 to the Hurricanes’ 4. For a while though, it looked like this would be the Senators’ second shootout in as many games. Then, with 14 seconds left in the game, Kyle Turris undressed Canes defenceman Ryan Murphy and fed a streaking Mark Stone in front of the net for an easy tap in. You’d be forgiven for mistaking Turris for Jason Spezza on the play. End of the night, the Sens had their much needed two points, and their first victory over Khudobin in six tries.

NOTES & OBSERVATIONS

This could turn out to be a huge win for the Senators as the Boston Bruins ended up losing to the Buffalo Sabres tonight. This leaves the Sens just 4 points back of the Bruins with a game in hand.
Luck o’ the Irish tonight with Saint Patrick Wiercioch (the patron saint of Corsi) scoring the tying goal on the powerplay. He was also rock solid all night long and made several good moves to carry the puck out of his own end, and to break up chances against. Hopefully Bryan Murray and Dave Cameron have noticed this game, and his recent string of good ones, and realize there is no reason, short of injuries, to put Jared Cowen back in the top four, or Chris Phillips back in the lineup at all. Wiercioch led the Sens with a Corsi For of 15 at even strength tonight, and had a total ice time of 21:44.
Speaking of, Cowen and Borowiecki were once again noticeable, in a bad way. They struggled more than any other pairing to retrieve the puck in their own end and get it out effectively. The third pairing really needs somebody with some puck skill. Not like there’s a certain guy in Binghamton who could help with that, right?
The line of Erik Condra, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Lazar was again a treat to watch. They may not have scored, but they consistently kept the puck in the Canes’ end, which is saying something given how Carolina controlled the play in the first and third periods. In fact, only five Senators forwards finished with an even or higher Corsi For tonight. Guess who three of those forwards were? Condra also made a smart play to spring Lazar for a breakaway, but alas, Khudobin was on the ball.
Eric Staal was surprisingly quiet tonight. Normally the Sens are a team he excels against, with 15 goals and 37 points in 40 games going into tonight. He had a few good possessions, but hardly anything that stood out much. Kudos to the Sens for keeping him in check, but at age 30, his best days are likely behind him.
With his 2-1 win tonight, Hammond tied Frank Brimsek‘s record of allowing just 2 goals or fewer to in his first 12 career NHL starts. Cogratulations, Hamburglar. Brimsek accomplished the feat back in 1938-39 with the Boston Bruins. Which brings us to…

UP NEXT

It’s the biggest game of the season as the Senators host the Bruins again. With only four points separating the teams, and Ottawa holding a game in hand, this could make or break the Senators’ playoff hopes. Puck drops at 7:30 pm. Thanks for reading, and robble robble.

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