The Ottawa Senators notched their first win of the season in impressive fashion, with Mike Fisher scoring two goals and leading his team to a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
It was Pascal Leclaire's first period injury that stole headlines early, with the goaltender being helped off the ice and thousands of Senators fans burying their hands in their palms. However, the Senators bounced back in improbable fashion, and they rewarded for outplaying and outhustling a Carolina Hurricanes team that looked lackadaisical for much of the night.
There's no new information on PL, but we'll pass that along as soon as we get it. For now, go ahead and pencil in Brian Elliott to start at the Bell Center against the Montreal Canadiens.
--
First Period
After just three saves, the "Anti-Teflon Don" (or should we go with Glasscal?) Pascal Leclaire's miraculous three-game run without any injuries game to a close. A collision with Tom Kostopoulos early in the first period saw trainers and the coaching staff assisting Pascal off the ice with an apparent lower body injury. Brian Elliott was quickly inserted into the game, and the atmosphere in Scotiabank Place was quickly deflated.
It's the sad story of Pascal Leclaire's entire career, really, as he was finally exhibiting signs of becoming the undisputed starting goaltender in Ottawa. For now(and possibly for quite some time), this will be the Brian Elliott show - again.
The Senators responded well to the adversity, however, and Ottawa got the scoring started after phenomenal shifts from Mike Fisher and Chris Neil. It took a fluky goal from Mike Fisher to get the crowd back on its feet - a shot from the point that floated into the air off the back of Jussi Jokinen, eventually sneaking into the net over the head of the venerable Cam Ward. Sometimes, a video is better than words:
Second Period
Ward was on his game for much of the second period as well, but an absolute gem of a goal by Milan Michalek pushed the lead to two. The goal was set up by none other than Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, the latter of which put a beautiful pass in between 'Canes defenders to the stick of Michalek. A quick move on Ward, and Michalek tallied his first of the year.
Carolina cut the deficit to one after some sensational puck carrying by Eric Staal on a Carolina PP after Milan Michalek was sent to the box for interference. Staal had carried the puck behind the net and put Brian Elliott right to the ice in laughable fashion, then found the wide open Sergei Samsonov to finish. This wouldn't be Staal's last impact in the third period - just a minute later, Staal's keep in the offensive zone lead to a 2v1 and an extremely vulnerable Eric Staal was beaten by Erik Cole's cross ice pass and Staal's subsequent finish.
Two shots on two goals? Definitely not how Ottawa planned on "finishing" this game, one that seemed like a surefire win after forty minutes.
Third Period
It was Mike Fisher's late heroics that saved Ottawa from another groin-kicking loss, as his laser from about ten out blew by Cam Ward and more importantly put an end to the miserable man advantage numbers. Ottawa's first conversion on the power play came after Jussi Jokinen was sent to the box for a two-minute minor, and the score 3-2 held during the final frantic minutes.
Ottawa needed this one, and considering the adversity the team dealt with after Pascal Leclaire was sent to the locker room just two minutes into the game, they probably deserved it. They out shot a talented Hurricanes squad 39-24, and now have to set their sights on a Montreal Canadiens team that's also struggled out of the gate.
--
Three points in four games? Don't cancel the season just yet. We'll have more on Pascal Leclaire's injury as it comes to us, and hopefully the Quebec native isn't out for too long.
Four games into the season and Ottawa's on the verge of another goaltending controversy - all is right in the world of hockey. Elliott didn't look especially strong tonight, but it's always hard to come into a game you don't expect to see any time in, and 19 saves on 21 shots isn't a poor performance by any means.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»