Ottawa Senators snap losing streak with 5-2 win over Toronto Maple Leafs –NHL Match Update
Ottawa had not won a single matchup in the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season ever since the month of November had kicked off. The Senators had six straight wins to end October but five in-a-row losses following that, they finally ended
the slump with a dominating win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2, Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Senators goalie, Craig Anderson, was happy at the chance of having another start after being pulled out just two minutes into their previous matchup against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, in which they lost by a disappointing, 5-1.
This time, Anderson was focused on making it right and that is exactly what he did by blocking 31 of 33 Toronto shots on his net for a near shutout.
"He competed", Ottawa coach, Paul MacLean, said of Anderson. "I thought that our whole team competed better than we did in the previous games. ... We did a good job of defending, didn't give up (many) second opportunities and if we did, Craig was there to
stop them".
Tyler Bozak gave Toronto the lead heading into the next 20 minutes after potting his first of the season with less than three minutes remaining to play in the game opener.
Sergei Gonchar answered back for the Senators nearly midway through the second while Nick Foligno capitalised on two late penalties which gave the visiting team a 5-on-3 man advantage with two of Toronto’s players out with minor penalties only seconds apart.
Zack Smith took control of the puck after the face-off and made a breakaway unassisted to score his third of the night which silenced the tensed home crowd.
Joffrey Lupul gave Toronto some hope after bringing them within reach of the score by one with 2:50 remaining in the third but Nick Foligno and Milan Michalek’s empty netter near the end secured the match in Ottawa’s favour.
"I think it's huge for us because we've had a lot of games we've kind of been close", Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "We've just got to keep pushing ourselves and keep getting better and believe in the process".
Ottawa has the next road game against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, while Toronto stays home for one more against the Phoenix Coyotes the same day.
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