SENATORS SPOIL TURRIS’ RETURN TO OTTAWA
Hoffman’s OT goal clinches second straight victory for the team’s short-handed roster
The Ottawa Senators welcomed old friend Kyle Turris back to town on Thursday night,
But not with open arms. It wasn’t easy, but led by goals from a group of unlikely heroes — Magnus Paajarvi, Max McCormick and Chris DiDomenco
— the Senators picked up their second straight victory with a 4-3 overtime win over Turris and the Nashville Predators at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Mike Hoffman scored the winner at 3:01 of overtime when he beat Juuse Saros through the fivehole for his 100th career goal.
“It feels good to hit a little milestone like that, and it’s a little more special that it’s the overtime winner,” Hoffman said. “It couldn’t have happened at a better time.”
The Senators let a one-goal, third-period lead slip away when P.K. Subban’s second goal of the game tied it at 3-3 with 4:18 left in regulation time. Calie Jarnkrok also scored for the Predators.
Ottawa was outshot 21-7 in the third period as Nashville pushed to get the win.
Making his return for the first time since being dealt to the Nashville in a massive three-way deal that brought Matt Duchene to the Senators from Colorado in November, Turris was received a standing ovation from the fans after an emotional first-period video tribute.
“That was very neat,” said Turris. “That was really nice of the organization to do.
“The support from the fans and video they put together encompasses my six years here. I loved it. It was a great organization and I was very thankful to be a part of it.”
The Predators did get away with a point in the standings, but the Senators found a way to get the job done in the end with timely goals and key saves from goaltender Craig Anderson.
The Senators weren’t able to shut the door and preserve their lead when Subban fired home a blast to beat Anderson and tie the game. Anderson didn’t stand much of a chance, but the Senators have had their share of issues holding leads, and this was no different.
Forwards Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan, Derick Brassard, Nate Thompson and Gabriel Dumont were all out with injuries for Ottawa, while Alex Burrows began serving his 10-game suspension. The Senators recalled Mike Blunden from Belleville.
The Senators looked like a team that didn’t want to be embarrassed and they played a physical game, with Mark Borowiecki throwing his body around.
“We knew, with them coming in, we had to be at our very, very best,” said Senators head coach Guy Boucher. “The first two periods, we were the better team, and that says a lot about the guys from the (AHL) coming into our lineup.
“We’ve been playing good hockey for a while now. I like the way our team has responded.”
The Senators pulled out to a 3-2 lead through 40 minutes. Key was the fact that they outshot Nashville 25-14. In fact, the Senators controlled the second period, when they scored twice and outshot the Predators by a 17-4 margin.
That hasn’t happened very often this season and the Senators were full value for it, because the Predators were being beaten to loose pucks while Ottawa was winning the battles.
“I kind of fell asleep there,” said Anderson with a smile.
“We were buzzing. We got momentum and they weren’t able to change the momentum. We’ve had enough of those periods where we were on the receiving end. To be on the giving end was nice.”
Paajarvi scored his first goal as a Senator when he circled the net and beat Saros with a wraparound to give Ottawa a 3-2 lead at 11:59. Karlsson got an assist for the 492nd point of his career and moved into sole possession of third place on the franchise’s all-time scoring list.
Belleville call-up McCormick, who has a great chance to show what he can do with Burrows suspended, scored his first NHL goal since Jan. 18, 2016, when he went to the net and beat Saros and tie it up 2-2 at 4:08 of the second.
Trailing 2-1 after 20 minutes, the Senators allowed Jarnkrok to score with only 1:55 left when he took a pass and beat Anderson stick side. The Senators had a strong effort in the first and were outshot 10-8.
One guy taking advantage of the opportunity to get more ice time is DiDomenico. He scored his third goal in four games when he took a pass down low and beat Saros. That was also DiDomenico’s sixth goal in 22 games this season, a pretty impressive number.
Only 34 seconds into the first period, Subban’s attempted pass bounced off Cody Ceci’s skate and past Anderson on the stick side. It was Subban’s 14th goal of the year and there wasn’t a lot either Ceci or Anderson could do about it.
The Senators will face the Maple Leafs on Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto (7 p.m., CBC). They are hoping to have Stone back from a leg injury that has forced him to miss nine straight games.