Senators take commanding lead

Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Tortorella is known as a master motivator, and he sure did his part to induce another solid performance from inexperienced Ottawa Senators goaltender Ray Emery last night.

Emery, in his fourth start in National Hockey League playoffs because Dominik Hasek hasn't recovered from a muscle injury he suffered at the Olympics, made 30 saves in the fourth game of their Eastern Conference quarter-final series for a 5-2 victory. The 2004 Stanley Cup champion Lightning are now on the brink of elimination, down 3-1 in the series.

The Senators won back-to-back games at the St. Pete Times Forum and handed the Lightning their first successive playoff losses since 2003.

After the Senators hammered Tampa 8-4 on Tuesday, Tortorella said his players had rattled Emery with three third-period goals, adding that he thought the Ottawa goalie was the Senators' weak link.

Emery didn't know about Tortorella's comments until after yesterday's morning skate, but seemed more than ready to prove the Lightning coach wrong.

He was especially good in the first period and in the middle portion of the second, when his teammates took more than a few shifts off from their defensive responsibilities. After relying on Emery to hold them in there, the Senators were a lot more diligent in their coverage and made the most of their offensive opportunities.

When Senators forward Chris Neil, public enemy No. 1 in Tampa because he refused to engage Lightning enforcer Chris Dingman in a scrap in the third game, scored on a breakaway after exiting the penalty box early in the third period for the Senators' fifth goal, many in the sellout crowd of 20,682 booed the home team.

Tortorella altered his lineup for the game, inserting veteran Rob DiMaio for Dingman, who took the ill-advised two-minute instigator penalty and five-minute fighting major penalty when Neil would not tangle with him on Tuesday.

Tortorella also demoted left winger Fredrik Modin to the third line and put Dmitry Afanasenkov up alongside Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis. The new line combination accounted for the Lightning's first goal.

Senators centre Jason Spezza opened the scoring. He was sent down the ice by linemate Dany Heatley and made a nifty move on Afanasenkov, a forward, in which he put the brakes on, then shifted inside to fire a wrist shot past goaltender John Grahame.

The Lightning players definitely had more spring in their strides than in the third game on Tuesday. They had the Senators on their heels early.

The Lightning drew even on a controversial goal. Tampa defenceman Paul Ranger took a shot from the point as St. Louis drove to the net. On his way toward the goal, St. Louis angled Ottawa centre Bryan Smolinski into Emery, leaving Emery no chance to save the day. The puck wound up going off the leg of St. Louis for his fourth goal in four games.

Richards made the score 2-1 late in the period on a deadly shot from the high slot that beat Emery to the stick side.

The Senators came out for the second period with more determination and were rewarded with a goal from defenceman Chris Phillips.

They had a good breakout from their own end and Phillips finished off the play with a perfect high shot past Grahame's glove.

The Lightning briefly assumed control of the game again, but then defenceman Dan Boyle took a hooking penalty late in the second period. Heatley finished off a wonderful passing play from Spezza and Martin Havlat.

When nabbed for hooking, Boyle may have tested the patience of referee Bill McCreary. On his way to the penalty box, the Lightning defenceman flopped to imply that the Ottawa player had taken a dive on the play. McCreary, however, didn't give Boyle an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Forty seconds after Heatley's goal, Havlat converted a Peter Schaefer pass from behind the net on a play started by centre Mike Fisher. Fisher wore a full-face cage last night because he took a puck in the right eye on Tuesday and suffered some swelling that slightly impaired his peripheral vision.

40

Seconds between goals by Dany Heatley and Martin Havlat late in the second period to put the Senators up 4-2.

THE BIG PLAY

Senators' defenceman Chris Phillips started the comeback early in the second period with a pinpoint shot coming down the wing for his fifth goal in 65 career playoff games.

THE BIG MISTAKE

After Tampa goalie John Grahame was pulled following the second period, Ottawa forward Chris Neil beat backup goalie Sean Burke for a breakaway goal and a 5-2 lead early in the third period.

Mitch at 28/04/06 6:50 PM | 0 comments

Emery Excels in Net As Senators Top Sabres

The Ottawa Senators are tough to beat under any circumstances. When the puck is rolling their way, they're almost impossible to stop.

Ray Emery stopped 28 shots and got help from some fortunate bounces as Ottawa clinched a playoff spot with a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.

"I'll take the good bounces for sure," Emery said. "Luck was on our side, definitely."

The game was decided in the opening minutes of the third period when the Sabres, down 2-1, appeared to tie it after Mike Grier poked a loose puck at the side of the net behind Emery.

The shot appeared to trickle over the goal line, and referee Kevin Pollock ruled it a goal. His call was overturned when officials required five minutes to review the play. Video replays showed the puck never completely crossed the line before Ottawa's Brian Pothier fished it out.

Mike Eaves scored 5 minutes later, snapping a shot from the slot over Ryan Miller's left shoulder, to clinch the Senators' fourth straight victory. Ottawa is 12-1-1 in its last 14 games.

"Things are going well, you know, and confidence is a big thing," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said.

As for the fortunate bounces, he added, "You make your own luck, I think."

Alfredsson and Antoine Vermette, with goals two minutes apart in the first period, also scored for Ottawa, which moved 27 points ahead of ninth-place Montreal, which has 13 games remaining. The Senators won despite missing four regulars, including defensemen Zdeno Chara (hand) and Anton Volchenkov (head), both hurt in a 5-2 win against Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Daniel Briere scored the lone goal for Buffalo, which has lost four straight, matching the team's longest losing streak this season. The Sabres have been outscored 16-6 during their skid.

They also fell nine points behind Ottawa in the Northeast Division standings, and dropped to 1-5 against the Senators this season.

This loss might have been the toughest to take.

"I thought it went in," Grier said of his shot, noting NHL officials watching the game in Toronto eventually made the final ruling. "Toronto called and said, `The whole thing didn't go over.' There's nothing I can do about it."

That wasn't the only bounce that went against the Sabres.

Midway through the second period, Buffalo's J.P. Dumont deflected Brian Campbell's point shot only to have the puck hit off the left post, roll along the length of the crease and bounce out off the other post.

Emery said he knew the puck got behind him, but was relieved when he heard the familiar pings of the posts.

"You get excited," he said. "You work for the bounces you get."

Emery was sharp in preserving the victory - his 11th this month since taking over the starting duties in place of Dominik Hasek, who continues to nurse a groin injury suffered during the Turin Olympics.

Emery's best stop came midway through the third period when he kicked out his left pad to foil Briere, who was set up on the doorstep.

"We have to continue to grind away," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "The energy level of our team isn't great. We're mucking through it."

The Sabres are in the midst of playing 17 games this month and travel to play Boston on Saturday.

Notes:@ The three goals gave Ottawa 274 this season, matching a franchise record set in 2000-01. ... Sabres D Jay McKee broke his nose in several places after being struck across by Bryan Smolinski's shot midway through the first period. He received one stitch and wore a visor when returning to play at the start of the second period. ... Senators D Filip Novak, called up from AHL Binghamton on Thursday, made his NHL debut.

Mitch at 27/03/06 7:31 PM | 0 comments

Sens recall Novak

The Ottawa Senators recalled defenceman Filip Novak from the club's American Hockey League team in Binghamton on Thursday.

Novak is an emergency call-up and will replace Anton Volchenkov, who suffered a slight concussion in Ottawa's win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

Novak, 22, has eight goals and 44 assists in 63 games with Binghamton. The Czech Republic native ranks fifth among AHL defencemen in scoring with 52 points.

He has yet to appear in an NHL game.

Mitch at 27/03/06 7:29 PM | 0 comments

Senators fall to Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers scored early and often Saturday night, tallying four first-period goals en route to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.
 
Joni Pitkanen, left, and Peter Forsberg of the Flyers celebrate Forsberg's goal against the Ottawa Senators during the third period of Saturday's game in Philadelphia.
Petr Nedved, Nicholas Dimitrakos, Jeff Carter and Michal Handzus scored even-strength goals for the Flyers before the halfway point of the first to chase Senators goaltender Ray Emery, who stopped 10 of 14 shots in eight-and-a-half minutes.

"I'm assuming they haven't played every period like that this year," Emery said. "They were flying. They definitely sent a message."

Emery, who has assumed the role of Ottawa's starting goalie, Dominik Hasek continues to nurse a groin injury, was replaced by Mike Morrison.

Morrison, who was picked up recently off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers, stopped 29 shots.

Peter Forsberg added a power-play goal and Donald Brashear also scored for the Flyers, who got 33 saves from goalie Antero Niittymaki.

"If you don't get all over them quick, they're going to use their speed and skill to hurt you," Carter said of the Senators, the NHL's highest-scoring team. "I think we had to play a real physical, tight-checking game and that's what we did."

Brian Pothier, Dany Heatley and Antoine Vermette tallied for Ottawa, which lost the season series with Philadelphia 3-1.

Despite Saturday's loss, the Senators remain in first place in the Eastern Conference with 102 points, four more than second-place Carolina, which fell 3-1 at home to Washington on Saturday night.

The Senators open a four-game homestand Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils.

Meanwhile, the surging Flyers are eyeing home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Philadelphia, which has won four straight, took over third spot in the East from the New York Rangers, who suffered a 4-3 shootout loss in Tampa Bay on Saturday night.

The Flyers and Rangers both have 90 points, but Philadelphia's one extra win gives it first place in the Atlantic division standings.

"Now people are starting to see what we look like as a team," Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Hopefully we can stay healthy. We've been chasing it all year."

 

Mitch at 27/03/06 7:29 PM | 0 comments