Memory Lane – The Ottawa Senators and Hockey Day In Canada History

Saturday marks the 13th version of Hockey Day In Canada, CBC’s annual celebration of the game that began in 2000 and has occurred every year except 2005 when the season was lost due to the lockout.  Well, that day has arrived, and the Senators will host the Winnipeg Jets to kick it off at 2:00 pm. It is the first time they have faced the Jets on Hockey Day in Canada.

The Senators have a 6-5-1 record on Hockey Day in Canada…here is a review of all 12 games so far:

Jan 24, 2013; Sunrise, FL, USA; Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson (41) gets congratulations from defenseman Chris Phillips (4) after defeating the Florida Panthers 3-1 at the BB

2000-  VANCOUVER @ OTTAWA  Felix Potvin made 34 saves for the Cancuks as they beat the Senators 3-1.  Joe Juneau had the lone goal for the Senators, while Ron Tugnutt allowed 2 goals (one was an empty netter) on 23 shots.

2001 – VANCOUVER @ OTTAWA  Ottawa got revenge on Vancouver the next season when Patrick Lalime made 25 saves for the shutout as the Senators beat the Canucks 3-0.  Daniel Alfredsson, Marian Hossa and Rob Zamuner did the damage against Dan Cloutier in the Vancouver net to even Ottawa’s HDIC record at 1-1.

2002 –  OTTAWA @ TORONTO  The first Battle Of Ontario on HDIC didn’t fare so well for the Senators, as Lalime allowed 3 goals on 22 shots and the Senators lost to the Leafs 3-1.  Mike Fisher had the Ottawa goal while Robert Reichel, Darcy Tucker and Alexander Mogilny scored for the Leafs.  Curtis Joseph made 9 saves as the Senators “peppered” him with a mere 10 shots.

2003 – OTTAWA @ TORONTO  Toronto got the best of Ottawa again, this time Ed Belfour was forced to make 31 saves to ensure a 2-1 Leafs victory. Jonas Hoglund and Robert Svehla scored for the Leafs against Lalime, who made 23 saves.  Zdeno Chara had the lone Senators goal.

2004 – CALGARY @ OTTAWA  Martin Havlat and Bryan Smolinski provided the offense as the Senators beat Roman Turek and the Calgary Flames 2-1.  Jordan Leopold socred the only goal against Lalime, who made 18 saves for the win.

2006 – OTTAWA @ MONTREAL  Montreal scored 4 times in the first 15 minutes to beat the Senators 4-1. Saku Koivu, Francis Bouillion, Radek Bonk and Mathieu Dandenault did the damage against Ray Emery, who was replaced by Dominik Hasek after the 4th goal.  Christobal Huet made 40 saves for the Habs, and was only beaten by Steve Martins.

2007 -MONTREAL  @ OTTAWA  It was Ottawa’s turn to get off to a quick start against the Canadiens, as they scored 6 times in the first 23 minutes en route to an 8-3 win.  They chased Huet after the 6th goal (on 25 shots), and he was replaced by David Aebischer, who stopped 6 of 8 shots.  There were eight different goal scorers for the Senators – Wade Redden, Antoine Vermette, Mike Comrie,  Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, Chris Kelly, Patrick Eaves and Andrej Meszaros.  Emery made 37 saves on 40 shots, getting beat by Chris Higgins, Craig Rivet and Sheldon Souray.

2008 – MONTREAL @ OTTAWA  The “Pizza Line” had its way with the Habs as Jason Spezza, Alfredsson and Heatley combined for 15 points in Ottawa’s 6-1 spanking of the Canadiens.  Spezza had 3 goals and 3 assist, Alfredsson 2 goals and 3 assists and Heatley chipped in a goal and 2 assists. Huet lasted only 4:45 this time around, getting beat three times on just 4 shots before being replaced by Carey Price.  Andrei Kostitsyn was the only player to beat Emery, who made 33 saves.

2009 – OTTAWA @ MONTREAL  Montreal got some measure of revenge with a 5-3 win over the Senators.  Montreal got out to a 3-0 lead which resulted in Brian Elliott getting the hook in favour of Alex Auld.  Heatley had two goals in the losing effort while Jarkko Ruutu had the other.  Montreal scorers were Tomas Plekanec, Alex Kovalev, Mathieu Schneider, Patrice Brisebois and Dandenault.

2010- MONTREAL  @ OTTAWA  Fisher had the overtime winner after Ottawa had coughed up a 2-0 lead and Montreal managed to force overtime.  Kovalev and Spezza had given the Senators the lead with goals on Jaroslav Halak, but Benoit Pouliot and Brian Gionta replied against Brian Elliot to earn the Habs a point.

2011 – OTTAWA @ EDMONTON  Ottawa struck for 3 third period goals to break a 2-2 tie to cruise to a 5-3 win over the Oilers.  Elliott was beat 3 times on only 18 shots, but it was enough for the win.  Kovalev had a pair including the empty netter for the Sens, who also got goals from Peter Regin, Bobby Butler and Milan Michalek againt Nikolai Khabibulin. Dustin Penner had two goals and Andrew Cogliano the single for the Oilers.

2012 -EDMONTON  @ OTTAWA  Taylor Hall had the overtime winner to lead the Oilers to a 4-3 win over the Senators.  Both teams had over 40 shots, with Craig Anderson making 36 saves and Khabibulin stopping 39 shots.  Ottawa got goals from Alfredsson, Michalek and Erik Karlsson while Magnus Paajarvi, Ben Eager and Shawn Horcoff bulged the twine in regulation for the Oilers.

Senators overall record – 6-5-1

AT HOME:  5-1-1

ON THE ROAD: 1-4-0

VS VANCOUVER: 1-1-0

VS TORONTO : 0-2-0

VS CALGARY:  1-0-0

VS MONTREAL: 2-2-0

VS EDMONTON: 1-0-1