Senators beat Penguins 4-1, extend win streak to eight
The Ottawa Senators tied a franchise record by recording their eighth straight win after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1.
Down, but not out
The Senators fell back early after Evgeni Malkin made it 1-0 within two minutes of the opening face-off. However, this team refused to let this get them out, and after surviving a strong Pens opening in the first six minutes or so, the Sens controlled the pace of the game from there on out.
Spezza's streak continues
Jason Spezza now has a five game goal streak going (if you include the two games prior to injury), tied for the longest of his career. He had another strong night, showing great patience with the puck and firing off a team high five shots on goal.
Not all streaks can last
Alex Kovalev's 7 game point streak came to an end tonight, but it doesn't mean he played poorly. Kovalev finished +1 and had a good night, backchecking hard and throwing some hits (albeit taking a couple of phantom calls against Kris Letang in the process).
Foligno's hard work pays off
Nick Foligno has been one of the best Senators on the ice the past few games, so it was nice to see him get an assist and an empty net goal in tonight's game.
Elliott = McGuire's monster performer
Pierre McGuire couldn't stop gushing about Brian Elliott's performance tonight. Elliott made 30 saves on 31 shots, and though he didn't face too many dangerous scoring chances he showed excellent rebound control on the ones that did hit him. He's clearly playing with confidence, and it's being reflected in the team in front of him.
Other things to note
Chris Kelly and Mike Fisher were the other two goal scorers on the evening, and the Senators continued their perfect penalty kill. Also worth noting is Erik Karlsson, who missed the net far too many times for his own good but looked absolutely stellar out there. This kid can skate so fast that once he's given free license to really go for end-to-end rushes he's going to be absolutely scary.
The Senators played harder than the Penguins tonight, deserved the win and got it. They were lucky that Marc-Andre Fleury made a few mistakes in net (apparently due to an injured finger, new glove, or both), but it would be very hard to deny that the Senators were the better team tonight. Let's just hope they can bring this momentum with them when they face the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
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