Despite being outmatched in the shot totals, a solid goaltending performance helped lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in an intense Battle of Ontario match-up on Tuesday.
Craig Anderson was phenomenal in the Ottawa goal, stopping 37 shots to pick up his 24th win of the season. Anderson earned first star of the game honours in the win which was also the 31-year old netminder's seventh in nine games played in the month of January.
Tuesday's loss marks the third in a row for the suddenly slumping Leafs, their longest slide since losing three-straight to end the 2010 calendar year. James Reimer was on the wrong end of the loss in which the game tying goal featured Jason Spezza making his presence felt just above the top of the crease as he stood on top of the Leafs' netminder. Reimer's start was his first since New Year's Eve, while the loss drops his record to 7-5-4 this season.
Matthew Lombardi got the scoring started, putting a deflected shot through Anderson's five hole to give Toronto the 1-0 lead at the 6:51 mark of the first period. Lombardi's goal was his third of the season and first in 18 games, dating back to Oct. 27. Picking up the assists on the play were Tim Connolly and Cody Franson.
The Leafs extended their lead to two while their star players snapped their modest three-game scoring slumps. In on a 2-on-1, Phil Kessel fed the puck to Joffrey Lupul who then one-timed it into the back of the net to give the Blue and White the two-goal lead. Lupul's goal was his 20th of the season, marking the fourth time in his career that the 28-year old forward has reached the 20-goal plateau. Kessel's assist was his 25th of the season.
As the first period wound to a close, the Sens got on the board with just 7.5 seconds remaining thanks to a goal from their captain Daniel Alfredsson, backhanding the puck over James Reimer to trim Toronto's lead. Alfredsson's goal was his 15th of the season, while Milan Michalek drew the initial assist. Kyle Turris was credited with the secondary helper.
In the second period there was a controversial hit when Nick Foligno low-bridged Leafs' captain Dion Phaneuf. The low hip check sent Phaneuf hard to the ice and he was slow to get up. Foligno was given a two-minute clipping minor for the hit, which was reminiscent of the hip check that earned Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins a five-game suspension earlier this month.
Later in the period, Foligno would have to answer for his actions, as Phaneuf tracked him down in the same corner in which Foligno low-bridged him and the two dropped the gloves. In addition to five-minute majors for fighting, Phaneuf received an additional minor for roughing which the Leafs successfully killed off.
Another controversial moment later in the period resulted in the Sens tying up the game. With Spezza on top of Reimer and his skate on top of the Leafs' netminder's left pad, Kaspars Daugavins appeared to use a kicking motion to direct the puck into the back of the net.
The goal was reviewed but replays showed that Spezza got his stick on the puck before it crossed the goal line, thus negating Daugavins' kicking motion. Spezza's goal was his 20th of the season, marking the seventh time in his career that he has reached that mark. Daugavins' assist on the play was his fifth of the year, whie Filip Kuba drew the secondary assist for his eleventh.
Toronto badly outshot the Sens by a 21-9 margin in the second period, but that momentum did not translate into the third. Early in the final frame, Kyle Turris snapped a wicked wrister over Reimer who was down too early on the play for his third goal since being acquired by Ottawa. The goal came just 1:24 into the period, while Alfredsson picked up his second point of the night with an assist on the play, and Jared Cowen was credited with the secondary helper.
Following the game, Leafs head coach Ron Wilson expressed frustration with the loss and said that his squad missed out on several opportunities to secure a win.
"Well, you're frustrated," Wilson said of his feelings after the loss. "We did a lot of things that we needed to do to create offense, generate offense. Good quality scoring chances and the puck didn't go in the net -- what are you gonna do? We had the opportunities."
"It's easy to say bear down on your scoring opportunities. But you hit the post a couple times, miss an empty net maybe, have a shot deflected at the last second. I can think of five or six great examples in the second period. They [Ottawa] hung around long enough and that's not a goal you want to give up the way we got behind in the third period. All they did was build a wall and frustrate us for the rest of the third."
Foligno's questionable hit on Phaneuf and the fight that proceeded it was a hot topic post-game. Senators head coach Paul MacLean said that he had no problem with the ruling on the ice or the fight between the two players.
"That's the way I always did it. If you've got an issue with somebody on the ice, that's why fighting is in the game," MacLean said. "If you've got an issue if someone does you wrong, it's up to you to step up and make somebody answer for it. I thought it was fine. I thought the play by Foligno was a penalty and I thought the way that they settled it was just great. That's the way it should be."
Phaneuf was not made available to the media post-game as it was announced that he was receiving medical attention. The reason for which was not revealed.
For his part, Wilson refuted claims that Phaneuf was injured.
"No. He finished the game, didn’t he?" Wilson said when asked if the Leafs' captain was hurt. "He’s probably pissed off. We wouldn’t put him out there if he was hurt."
Foligno defended his hit when asked about it by reporters following the game, stating that Phaneuf leaving his feet made the hip check look worse than it was.
"I saw him coming full speed, and he kind of leaves his feet," Foligno explained. "I get low because I’m trying to protect myself and also hip check him, and he kind of makes it look worse by leaving his feet. We fought, and it’s over with now."
Ottawa's win on Tuesday marks their ninth victory in their last eleven games as well as their third in four meetings against the Leafs this season. As the second half of the season moves along, the Sens' hot play has helped to create some distance between themselves and their divisional rival from Toronto. With the win, Ottawa sits one point back of the Bruins for the Northeast Division lead and nine points up on the third-place Leafs.
The Leafs are back in action on Thursday when they play host to the Minnesota Wild.
Senators vs. Leafs Stats Recap
Shots
OTT: 21
TOR: 39
Shot Leaders
OTT: Jason Spezza (3)
TOR: Matthew Lombardi (7)
Power Play
OTT: 0/1
TOR: 0/2
Blocked Shots
OTT: 13
TOR: 23
Blocked Shot Leaders
OTT: Four players tied w/ two each
TOR: Keith Aulie (7)
Hits
OTT: 39
TOR: 24
Hits Leaders
OTT: Jared Cowen (6)
TOR: Luke Schenn (8)
Face-Offs
OTT: 28/54 (52%)
TOR: 26/54 (48%)
Face-Off Leaders -Min. 10 opportunities
OTT: Jason Spezza - 14/23 (61%)
TOR: David Steckel - 6/12 (50%)
Time on Ice
OTT: Erik Karlsson (26:37)
TOR: Carl Gunnarsson (24:08)
Three Stars
1) Craig Anderson - OTT (37 Saves, .949 SV%)
2) Matthew Lombardi - TOR (1G, 0A)
3) Kyle Turris - OTT (1G, 1A)
Game Highlights
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