Senators 4, Hurricanes 2
OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators made their third lead of the night stick to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre.
Defenseman Cody Ceci scored the winner 3:50 into the third period when his slap shot deflected off the stick of Hurricanes center Eric Stall and fluttered past a line of bodies on its way to the back of the night.
The Senators, who gave up leads of 1-0 and 2-1, held on for their second consecutive victory. The loss stopped the Hurricanes winning streak at two games and interrupted a trend between the two teams. Carolina is 14-4-4 in its last 22 games against Ottawa.
Wingers Alex Chiasson, Zack Smith and Mark Stone had the other Senators goals, while centers Jordan Staal and Riley Nash replied for the Hurricanes.
Stone's goal came with one second on the clock and the Carolina net empty.
Senators goalie Craig Anderson made 30 saves to gain the win on the fifth anniversary of the trade that sent him from Colorado to Ottawa. Hurricanes goalie Eddie Lack stopped 18 shots.
Smith gave the Senators a 2-1 lead with his 13th goal -- and fourth in the last seven games -- at 5:39 of the second period. Skating in from the left wing, he took a shot that squeezed through Lack when the goalie appeared to have all angles covered.
The Hurricanes tied it up with a power play goal 1:43 from the second intermission. Nash was the marksman, beating Anderson on the stick side with a snapshot to the stick side. The goal was set up nicely by center Elias Lindholm, who put a blind backhand pass on his tape while being covered in the slot.
Anderson was the busier of the two goalies in the middle period, facing 13 shots while Lack was tested six times.
The Senators fourth line opened the scoring at 7:36 of the first period when center Curtis Lazar picked up a rebound at the side of the net and passed out front to Chiasson, who beat Lack with a low shot. Picking up his first NHL point on the play was rookie winger Nick Paul.
The goal was Chiasson's fourth of the season and his second since Nov. 7, when he also scored against Carolina.
Senators winger Ryan Dzingel had a chance to make it 2-0 seconds later, but Lack stopped him on a breakaway.
The Hurricanes evened the count with 23 seconds remaining in the period on Staal's second goal and fourth point in three games. He found the back of the net by deflecting a low shot by winger Joakim Nordstrom from the top of the right wing face-off circle.
The Hurricanes outshot the Senators 8-7 in the first period.
NOTES: Hurricanes G Cam Ward returned from a one-game with a lower-body injury to serve as the backup. Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said Ward could be back in the crease Friday when the Hurricanes host the San Jose Sharks. ... Hurricanes C Nathan Gerbe was scratched for the third consecutive game and sixth time in the last nine. ... Senators D Mark Borowiecki missed his second game with what coach Dave Cameron said Thursday morning is a concussion. Cameron called Borowiecki's status "day-to-day" and said he could play in Saturday's game against the Detroit Red Wings at Canadian Tire Centre. ... Senators LW Shane Prince was scratched for the second game in a row.