SENATORS SNEAK BY DEVILS
Injuries dog offence in 2-1 win
The Ottawa Senators had to dig deep for two points on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center.
Mission accomplished in a big way.
Playing with three of their top scorers on the injured list, the Senators got 29 saves from goaltender Craig Anderson and just enough offence to squeeze out a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Erik Karlsson and Kyle Turris did the scoring as the Senators, who scored a 3-0 win over the Devils here last Thursday, beat New Jersey for the second time in less than a week. Only Travis Zajac found the back of the net for the Devils.
“It was a very good win,” said Turris. “Well structured. A simple game and Andy played very well.”
The result kept the Senators two points back of the Montreal Canadiens in the race for top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Habs edged the Rangers 3-2 in a shootout in New York on Tuesday night.
With top scorers Mark Stone (neck), Mike Hoffman (groin) and Bobby Ryan (broken finger) all sidelined, Senators coach Guy Boucher didn’t run any lines at the morning skate and then shuffled the deck to put some together.
“They gave us a push, but I think it was real team pushback,” said Boucher. “We usually give awards for players of the game in our room, but we didn’t today. It was a real team thing. It was really good to see. It was good to hear the players say the right thing and stick together.
“We needed a great effort from everybody and we (got it).”
Though GM Pierre Dorion indicated on TSN he’s “hopeful” Stone and Hoffman will be able to suit up before the end of the Senators’ eight-day trip that winds up Monday in Tampa, the team has no choice but to move on without them.
The Senators showed a lot of character.
“Everybody stepped up,” Turris said. “Guys were just playing simple and making important plays that may not look like big plays at the time, but keep the game simple and keep them from gaining momentum.
“We’ve got a good group of guys. Different guys stepping up and playing within the system that we play.”
The Senators were able to survive a huge push by New Jersey in the third period, thanks to some big stops by Anderson, as they were outshot 10-4 in the frame.
Not long after it looked like the Senators were going to take control after pulling out to a 2-0 lead in the third, Zajac scored on a power play at the 6:37 mark with Tommy Wingels in the box for a delay of game.
Karlsson’s 10th goal of the season on a power play at 4:11 of the third pushed the Senators out to a two-goal lead that was huge. He fired a shot from the circle by Devils goaltender Cory Schneider that he had no chance of stopping.
Without Stone (22 goals), Hoffman (19) and Ryan (12), the Senators are missing a lot of offence.
“I think we played great. We got on our heels a little bit when they scored that goal (in the third), but I think they made a great push in the second and we held our ground,” Karlsson said. “Andy played great and he held us when we need it.”
The Senators took to a 1-0 lead in the second period and then tried to make sure the Devils didn’t have a lot in the way of opportunities. The Devils held the edge in shots at 20-19 and Ottawa was full value for its effort.
When the Devils had chances, the Senators were able to rely on Anderson — who moved past Patrick Lalime for the most starts in franchise history with 272 — to make the save.
Only 59 seconds into the second, the Senators got a boost they needed when Turris opened the scoring. He took a perfect pass from Ryan Dzingel and beat Schneider on the glove side from the circle for his 20th of the season. It’s the third time in the last four years Turris has reached the 20-goal plateau.
The two teams finished in a scoreless tie after the first and the Devils didn’t record their first shot on Anderson until the 8:02 mark.
“Coming into the game, we knew we were missing some skilled bodies, but you start 0-0 and you start with a point,” said Anderson. “We dug down deep and found a way to play a good solid defensive game.
“When we had our opportunities to score, we found a way to score. The power play came up huge. We’ll take it. The nice thing about injuries is every team has them and it opens opportunities for other guys to step in and that was what happened tonight.”