These are the type of games the Sens lost regularly last season.
But with Paul MacLean behind the bench there is a completely different attitude. This team believes in the system and when things aren't going their way, they stick with it. That persistence paid off tonight as the Ottawa Senators scored a gutsy 6-4 road win over the Winnipeg Jets.
With the home side holding a 4-3 lead, all the momentum was squarely behind the Winnipeg Jets. Two goals in the first three minutes of the final period and it looked like the Jets were going to pull away. But if you have watched the Sens this year, you know that this hockey team does not roll over, no matter how daunting the situation may seem.
Erik Karlsson found Jason Spezza with a perfect cross ice pass, Spezza converted a wicked shot and just like that, the game was all tied up. Then with less than seven minutes to play, Head Coach Paul MacLean played a hunch and rewarded the trio of Daugavins, Smith and Condra with a third period power play shift.
Zack Smith took advantage, beating Ondrej Pavlec high on the glove side for what turned out to be his second straight game winning goal and sixth on the season. That trio has been as reliable as they come for the Sens as of late. Daugavins picked up an assist, Condra had a couple helpers and Zack Smith tallied twice in 18:34 of ice time.
Team leader in goals Milan Michalek scored two more tonight and now has 14 on the season, only two behind the league lead. Chris Phillips, who is quietly putting together a great bounce back season, added two assists and was an impressive +4.
Was not all good news for the Sens as they lost a couple players to injury. Nikita Filatov left after taking a skate in the head which resulted in a broken nose. Filip Kuba also left the game with an upper-body injury which is likely related to a hard hit he took in the first period.
The Sens are off tomorrow and open up their December schedule with a game in Dallas on Thursday night.
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Repost from earlier but I thought I would include a few notes including some good news about the new scoreboard in this post as well.
On Bobby Ryan
Plenty of speculation today that Anaheim Ducks winger Bobby Ryan could be available via trade. Spoke with one contact on the Sens potential interest and was quickly told it wouldn't happen. Ducks will have plenty of offers for Ryan if they decide to move him but I really don't think Murray is willing to part with the assets required to make a deal of this magnitude. Ryan's contract is also an issue for the Sens.
On Derrick Brassard
Still an option the Sens are considering as a second line centre. According to Aaron Portzline on Twitter, Brassard will be in the line up for the Jackets tonight in Vancouver and is expected to see an increased role. Should be interesting to see who has scouts in Vancouver tonight.
On All Star Voting
The latest round of All Star Game voting results are in and as expected, the Sens contingent are beginning to feel some heat from other players from around the league. Daniel Alfredsson has slipped into second among forwards, Spezza is third and Michalek has fallen to 5th. Erik Karlsson continues to lead all defenceman in votes. Important that Sens fans continue to vote and vote often. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell strangers on the street to #VoteAlfie and all the rest. You can go here to cast your vote. And don't forget you can vote an additional 30 times via text message and 30 more times from your mobile device.
On Scoreboard
Here is the piece of good news for today. Was given indication today that the plan is to have a new scoreboard in place in time for the NHL All Star Game on January 29th. This has been an on again/off again issue for awhile now but it finally sounds like some progress has been made. Rumour has it the board will be installed towards the end of December.
