“Craig Anderson will be out indefinitely after injuring his right hand at his home on Wednesday night when a knife he was using to prepare a meal accidentally lacerated his right hand. Anderson was treated at hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.”

Robin Lehner is likely to be called up in time to make tomorrow morning’s practice at Bell Sensplex.  Rather than comment on his return to the big club, Lehner simply posted a smiley face on his twitter account.

http://video.thescore.com/watch/ott-5-was-2

The big news before the game was that the “Great 8″ Alexander Ovechkin would not be playing due to a lower body injury.  Speculation of Ovechkin’s availability had been running wild since the morning’s pre-game skate after he declared himself “not feeling well.”  So, the struggling Capitals entered the contest without their superstar sniper and yet another reason to go into this extremely important matchup with their heads hung low. 

And hang low they did, as the Caps sat back and watched the Erik Karlsson show.  Karlsson opened the scoring in the first when he took a sweet Jason Spezza pass and snapped it by Vokoun to make it 1-0.  Then, Karlsson found Milan Michalek streaking into the Washington zone and let MM9 do the rest.  Michalek would sneak the puck through the legs of Dennis Wideman and slide it past Tomas Vokoun to increase the lead to 2.  Despite being outshot 11-7, the Senators finished the first 20 minutes with a 2-0 lead and complete control of the game.

http://video.thescore.com/watch/michalek-goal

They kept it coming in the second.   Milan Michalek added his 2nd goal of the game early in the frame when he tipped Erik Karlsson’s point shot by Vokoun on the power-play.  The goal resulted in 2 separate milestones for Senators’ players.  First, Michalek’s goal was his 27th of the season, a new career season high.  Second, Karlsson’s assist put him at 47 for the year, setting a new franchise season high in that category for defencemen.  The Senators wound up chasing Tomas Vokoun with yet another power-play goal, this one from Chris Phillips, and the game looked to be in the bag for Ottawa.

http://video.thescore.com/watch/goal-deflects-in-off-perreaults-face

The Capitals didn’t go without a fight, however.  Goals by John Carlson (on the PP) and Mathieu Perreault (with his face….) closed the gap to 2 but that’s as close as they could get.  The Senators went on to the 5-2 victory and salvage their season-series against the Capitals by taking the final game.

Plenty of contributors on this night for the Senators.  Erik Karlsson and Milan Michalek tallied 3 points a piece, with Karlsson setting a franchise record with his 7 points over 2 games as a defenceman.  Nick Foligno & Chris Neil added 2 points each while Craig Anderson 33 saves.  The Senators extend their winning streak to 4 games going into their Saturday night tilt against the Boston Bruins.

Paul MacLean (audio)

http://senators.nhl.com/v2/ext/Audio/120222_MacLean_post1.mp3

Erik Karlsson on his recent play…

Find out more at www.NHL.com and www.OttawaSenators.com

Milan Michalek on his highlight reel goal and celebration (Spezza chimes in)

Find out more at www.NHL.com and www.OttawaSenators.com

Find out more at www.NHL.com and www.OttawaSenators.com

As for the Capitals, Alex Ovechkin left pre-skate after one attempt at a line rush.  Afterwards, Ovechkin said he wasn’t feeling well and would be a game-time decision.  He reiterated that it was not an injury, although coach Dale Hunter later said No. 8 was suffering from a lower-body injury.  Who do believe?  Who knows, but here’s what Ovechkin had to say.

Find out more at www.NHL.com and www.WashingtonCapitals.com

Meanwhile, recently returned Mike Green commented on the owner’s statement that the loss to Carolina was extremely disappointing and whether or not this team can get back to being a dominant force.

Find out more at www.NHL.com and www.WashingtonCapitals.com

Paul MacLean (audio)

http://senators.nhl.com/v2/ext/Audio/120221_MacLean.MP3

Bryan Murray on the upcoming deadline, his team’s needs, Filip Kuba & the trade he would like to make. (video)

http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hcatid=1141&id=159191

http://video.thescore.com/watch/ott-6-nyi-0

The Senators came into this game on a bit of a roll.  Ottawa had recorded 7  out of a possible 8 points in their past 4 games and had moved within 4 of division-leading Boston.  Jason Spezza also came in red-hot, with 5 goals & 8 assists in his past 5 contests.  Would a 4-day lay-off give them some much needed rest or kill the momentum of their successful Florida trip?   

Well, it looked like the 4-day rest was a good thing as the Senators busted out on the attack early.  Just 1:08 in, Erik Karlsson picked off an errant pass in the Islanders zone and went to the corner.  Rather than dump it in deeper, Karlsson elected to send it on net and surprised goaltender Kevin Poulin.  The puck deflected off Poulin and into the net, giving the Senators the 1-0 lead.  27 seconds later on a delayed penalty, Nick Foligno handed the puck off to Jason Spezza, who ripped it by Poulin and Ottawa had a 2 goal lead less than 2 minutes in.  That spelled the end for Poulin, who gave up 2 goals on just 5 shots.   But it wasn’t much easier for Aldo Montoya as Erik Karlsson added his 2nd of the game off a pass from Daniel Alfredsson and it was 3-0 Senators after 1 period of play.

The Senators kept it going in the second.  After Steve Staois’ was called for delay of game, Chris Phillips’ scored his 3rd goal of the season when his shot from the point eluded everyone in front and Ottawa was up 4-0 after 2.

The third period was basically played out to see if Craig Anderson could get the shutout.  The Islanders had 10 shots over the first 2 periods and didn’t seem to be able to get anything going.  Even after dominating the first 5 minutes of the final frame, they were unable to beat Anderson.  Goals by Brian Lee (his first since Nov 14, 2009, a span of 99 games) and Jason Spezza made the deficit even worse as the Senators destroyed the Islanders 6-0.

Not much more you could ask for as a Senator fan this afternoon.  The Senators absolutely dominated the New York Islanders as 3 different defencemen scored for in the same game for the first time since October 22, 2009.  Craig Anderson made 28 saves for his 3rd shutout of the season.  Erik Karlsson finished with 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and increased his lead in NHL defenceman scoring to 17 points over the Panthers’ Brian Campbell.  Jason Spezza also kept his hot streak going, scoring his 26th & 27th goals of the season. 

The Senators get the Capitals at home on Wednesday night. 

Paul MacLean (audio)

https://vr.shapeservices.com/play.php?hash=74af133abd5380b6769c4520ba78817adc251644961b99975

MacLean, Spezza, Karlsson, Anderson & Phillips (video)

http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=158906

Eugene Melynk’s interview on the Fan 590 where he says Erik Karlsson could become “one of the great defencemen of all-time.”

http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content=20120220_091055_8468

Paul MacLean (audio)

http://senators.nhl.com/v2/ext/Audio/120219_MacLean.MP3

Jesse Winchester skated with assistant coach Luke Richardson before the start of practice.

The Senators were at the Bell Sensplex for practice this morning after returning from a successful Florida trip.  Beforehand, Jesse Winchester skated on his own as he continues to recover from a concussion.  Coach Paul MacLean brought in a ”tactical aggression specialist” so that those that do not know how to fight are able to protect themselves. Afterwards, Coach MacLean commented on the the recent play of Jim O’Brien and how his game has changed since training camp.

Find out more at www.NHL.com and www.OttawaSenators.com

Jason Spezza on playing in front of his Dad, the successful road trip and his personal success of late.

Find out more at www.NHL.com and www.OttawaSenators.com

Daniel Alfredsson on the upcoming trade deadline.

Find out more at www.NHL.com and www.OttawaSenators.com

Photo Courtesy @NHL_Sens

Check out the highlights

http://video.thescore.com/watch/ott-6-fla-2

I don’t get NHL Centre Ice, and I didn’t try too hard to find a livestream, so I was unable to watch this evening’s game between the Panthers and Senators.  Lucky for me, I still have a radio and dialed into the Team 1200.  That didn’t mean I missed the significance of tonight’s matchup though.  Heading into this contest, 1 point separated the 2 teams, with Florida holding the better playoff spot due to their division lead.  Both squads hoped to continue their surprising runs by taking 2 points from the other team. 

The Panthers and Sens traded goals in the first.  Jim O’Brien opened the scoring with a wraparound for his 1st NHL goal to make it 1-0 Ottawa. Shawn Matthias answered with his 10th of the season, sending a wrister over the shoulder of Craig Anderson and tying the score.  

Despite outshooting the Senators 17-10, it was the Panthers that fell behind in the second.  Kaspars Daugavins tallied his 4th of the year and 1st in 37 games when he redirected a Brian Lee shot, making it 2-1 Senators.  Then, Bobby Butler took a Milan Michalek pass and ended an 11 game goalless drought to increase the lead to 2.  Finally, Daniel Alfredsson scored on a shorthanded breakaway for his 20th goal of the season to make it 4-1.  For Alfredsson, it was the 13th time he has reached the 20-goal plateau throughout his career.

Milan Michalek & Filip Kuba scored goals for the Senators in the third, while Brian Campbell responded for the Panthers.  6-2 was the final as the Senators swept the Florida portion of their 3 game road trip. 

Jason Spezza continued his torrid run, recording 3 assists and temporarily taking over 2nd place in the NHL points race.  Spezza now has 5 goals & 8 assists in his past 4 games.  Four other Senators contributed 2 points a piece (Alfredsson, Daugavins, Lee & Michalek), while Craig Anderson made 42 saves in being named the game’s first star.

Paul MacLean (audio)

https://vr.shapeservices.com/listen.php?hash=be2fc0812b854da0e36cc3cd7202898f6c367d439d8e3b95c

Jim O’Brien on his first NHL goal

http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=157616

MacLean, Alfredsson, Spezza, Daugavins & Lee (video)

http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=157615

Paul MacLean (audio)

http://senators.nhl.com/v2/ext/Audio/120215_MacLean.mp3

MacLean, Alfredsson, Greening & Gonchar (video)

http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=157603

Photo Courtesy @NHL_Sens

Check out the highlights

http://video.thescore.com/watch/ott-4-tb-0

Yet another big game for the Senators on this Day of Love as they took on the Tampa Bay Lightning in Florida.  Ottawa began the day sitting in 7th place in the Eastern Conference standings with 64 points, just 2 ahead of 8th place Toronto and 3 in front of 9th place Washington.  Luckily, they seemed to have history on their side as the Senators’ all-time record on Valentine’s Day was 5-0-0 before tonight’s game.   

The Sens got it started early.  Just 1:04 into the first period, Erik Karlsson took a slick backhand pass from Jason Spezza and banked a wrist shot off the crossbar and in to give Ottawa the lead.  Then, it was Craig Anderson’s time to shine.  On a broken 3 on 2, Teddy Purcell was left alone in front of the Senator net.  He received a pass and let a wrist shot go, only to be thwarted by Anderson and an absolutely fantastic 2 pack stack.  That save was amongst 9 others that the Ottawa goaltender was able to stop in an effort to retain the 1 goal advantage during the first 20 minutes. 

Tampa Bay hit the ice for the second period and dominated all facets of play.  The Senators simply couldn’t handle the Lightning pressure and spent most of the frame in their own zone.  That didn’t stop them from increasing their lead however.  After Kyle Turris drew an interference penalty on Pavel Kubina, Jason Spezza’s shot from the point found its way through Mathieu Garon and it was 2-0 Senators after 2. 

The third period brought a scary occurrence.  During a rush towards the Senator net, Martin St. Louis & Erik Karlsson got tangled up and crashed into the end boards.  Both would get up and head to their respective benches, with Karlsson favouring his wrist/hand area.  He would be fine and in fact, mix it up with St. Louis several times throughout the remainder of the frame. 

The Senators would also add to their lead as Jason Spezza took a beautiful pass from Bobby Butler, waited out Mathieu Garon and deposited the puck into an open net to make it 3-0.  And just for good measure, Spezza completed the hat-trick, finally hitting the empty net after about 33 attempts for his 4th career 3-goal game and a 4-0 Senator victory.

Craig Anderson made 28 saves for his 2nd shutout of the season.  Jason Spezza finished the night with 4 points, while Bobby Butler & Erik Karlsson had 2 apiece.  Ottawa is now a perfect 6-0-0 on Valentine’s Day.

Paul MacLean (audio)

https://vr.shapeservices.com/listen.php?hash=8fe2aed9d8972bf9f3ecc110302f50305ea74283b10a1f734

MacLean, Spezza, Anderson, Phillips & Butler (video)

http://video.senators.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=157452