The roll continued for the Ottawa Senators Thursday night, as their eleventh straight opponent became another notch on the belt for the longest winning streak in Sens' franchise history. Thursday's victims were the Vancouver Canucks in a 3-1 Ottawa win, and they became victims in much the same way as had the previous ten. Ottawa attacked and scored, and the Canucks were thwarted in nearly every attempt.
Ottawa's newly half-decent powerplay struck early, with Milan Michalek redirecting a feed from Alexei Kovalev past Canucks goaltender, Andrew Raycroft for his 19th goal of the season. Only 1:34 into the first period, the Senators had already taken the lead, and they dominated the play throughout much of the first frame, outshooting Vancouver by a margin of 12-3 in the period.
With just under two minutes to go in the first, the rejuvenated Jason Spezza would strike again for Ottawa. Breaking in on a two-on one, Spezza would attempt a cross-ice pass, but it would deflect of the leg of Vancouver defenseman, Shane O'Brien, and into the net. As his team has stayed hot, so too has Jason Spezza, now having scored a goal in eight straight games. Spezza started the season slow, and was criticized for his lack of production, but has begun to make up for lost time as of late, scoring eight points in the six games he's played since returning from a knee injury on January 23rd.
Brian Elliott played another quality game for the Senators, stopping 29 shots, including a Steve Bernier breakaway in the dying seconds of the second period. Elliott shut the Canucks out until 18:21 of the third, when Kyle Wellwood tapped in a Mason Raymond feed from the side of the net on a Vancouver powerplay to put his team within a goal late in the game.
Chris Kelly would add an empty net goal for Ottawa late in the third to make it 3-1, and neutralize any possible comeback. With the win, Ottawa holds steady in fifth place in the East, but continues to inch forward, moving to within one point of the Buffalo Sabres for first place in the Northeast Division. The Senators get the chance to make it a dozen straight victories Saturday night on the road versus the new-look Toronto Maple Leafs.
Note: Ottawa Defenseman, Erik Karlsson left the game in the second period with an apparent shoulder injury after an open ice hit from Vancouver's Ryan Kesler. He did not return to the game, and there is no update on his status at this time.
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