Spezza pushed Ottawa Senators past Toronto Maple Leafs, 1-0
Jason Spezza was the lone scorer in the second round of the shootout to lift Ottawa Senators to a 1-0 victory over Toronto Maple Leafs, at Air Canada Centre on Saturday night.
Craig Anderson registered his first shutout of the season in his first start with Senators, who won for just the third time in 22 contests.
"I wanted to come in and make good first impression and show the guys I'm willing to work and battle for them," Anderson said. "When they see me battling and do everything I can possibly can, it picks their game up a little bit and they're willing
to do a little bit extra."
James Reimer earned his second career shutout, turning away 22 shots for Toronto, who had a two-game win streak halted.
Both teams failed to score during all three periods. Maple Leafs shelled Anderson with 43 shots, while Ottawa was able to hit just 22 shots on goal in 60 minutes.
"We had a ton of scoring chances, 47 shots on goal," said Maple Leaf head coach Ron Wilson. "What I feared (was) Craig Anderson would be excited with a change of scenery, and he had a great night in a game that we totally dominated."
Ottawa wasted a prime opportunity to score with 3:46 minutes to play in the game, when Dion Phaneuf got an interference call. But Senators hardly brought the puck into the Toronto zone and both teams went into extra session goalless.
Just two minutes into the overtime, Senators Filip Kuba was whistled for hooking during a scramble in front of the Ottawa net, providing Toronto an opportunity for the game-winning goal. Maple Leafs, though, failed to take advantage of several
golden chances.
Anderson was the best player on the ice, as he made 30 saves in the first and second period. He was also tested repeatedly in the final session, as he blocked a dangerous Luke Schenn’s shot with his glove with less
than 10 minutes left in the third period.
"It's great for him," Ottawa coach Cory Clouston said. "I'm excited for him. The guys really like the way he played obviously."
Anderson's nicest save came in extra session when he made a pad save on Phil Kessel’s shot.
Spezza finally snapped a scoreless deadlock for a 1-0 lead with a simple wrist shot to beat Reimer's glove hand. In the final round, Nikolai Kulemin could not held control of the puck before he could get a shot off to wrap up the win for Ottawa.
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