Senators remember how to win, beat Oilers 4-1
The first period was dominated by Ottawa, but they were unable to take advantage of it because A) the powerplay was useless despite four chances (including a half-minute of 5-on-3), and B) goalie Jeff Deslauriers was on top of his game. The highlight of the period, though, was probably Brian Elliott stopping Mike Comrie on a penalty shot near the end of the period. A goal would have swung the momentum in Edmonton's favour, but Elliott didn't let it happen.
The second period, however, started with an Edmonton goal by Fernando Pisani in the first 5 minutes. The Ottawa Senators then took control of the game and near the end of the period Chris Kelly sniped one into the back of the twine -- except by "sniped" I mean shot from an impossible angle and got a fluke bounce.
That opened up the dam for the third period, so to speak, as the Senators managed to put three more past Deslauriers, including power play goals from Milan Michalek and Matt Cullen. Mike Fisher had the other goal for the Sens.
Although the Senators controlled the game, a lot of that can be credited to the Edmonton Oilers' undisciplined play. The Senators had 9 powerplay opportunities (including a couple of 5-on-3s), and so it's no wonder they dominated the shot count (39-19). The Senators are lucky that they got a couple of goals on powerplays in the third period, though, because their powerplay was miserable prior to it. The Senators desperately need to work on their powerplay so that they don't continue to blow as many chances as they did tonight.
Sens Heroes: Daniel Alfredsson, Erik Karlsson, Brian Elliott
Alfredsson didn't get any goals, but he managed to put up three helpers, including a dandy pass on the Milan Michalek goal. Karlsson moved the puck with incredible ease tonight and racked up two assists of his own while firing six shots on goal and logging a team high 23:30 of icetime. Brian Elliott deserves recognition for being solid when he had to be, and making that key save on the Comrie penalty shot.
Shot Chart!
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