Senators pull out of two-game slide with 3-2 win
OTTAWA -- Aided by a goal that Jiri Hudler scored on his own net from center ice, the Ottawa Senators put themselves back on track with a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Senators (28-18-6) had lost their previous two games by a combined count of 10-0. The Stars (21-24-10) saw their losing streak extended to four games.
Mark Stone, Dion Phaneuf and Chris Kelly were the Senators' goal scorers. Jamie Benn and Antoine Roussel replied for the Stars.
Senators goalie Mike Condon returned to the net after a one-game break to make 31 saves for the victory. Kari Lehtonen stopped 16 shots between the Dallas pipes.
Stone scored the winner at 6:03 of the third period on a nice solo effort. After carrying the puck down the right wing into the Stars' zone, he dropped a pass back to the point for Cody Ceci, whose shot hit the side of the net and went to Stone, who tucked it into the other side with a wraparound. It was his team-leading 19th goal of the season.
Phaneuf opened the scoring with a short-handed goal at 14:41 of the first period. With Ceci in the box, the Senators finally put some pressure on Lehtonen and forced a faceoff in the Dallas zone. The draw was won by Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Phaneuf promptly beat Lehtonen on the glove side with a slap shot from the point that went through a crowd.
The Senators went up by two goals at 17:55 of the period in a most bizarre fashion. With Lehtonen at the bench on a delayed-penalty call, Hudler sent a back pass from center that went by his teammates into the empty net. Kelly was credited with the goal, his fifth of the season.
Roussel brought the Stars within one at 11:28 of the second period as the finisher on a fine passing play. He had an open side to score his eighth goal of the season after a cross-crease pass from Radek Faksa.
Benn tied the score at 16:09 of the period with a snap shot from the middle, just inside the blue line. It went past a number of bodies before hitting the center of the net behind a screened Condon. It was the 17th goal of the season for the Dallas captain.
NOTES: The Senators went with an alignment of seven defensemen and 11 forwards. To do that, RW Chris Neil was scratched for the fourth time in six games and RW Curtis Lazar was scratched for the second game in a row and third time in five games. ... Senators D Fredrik Claesson played after spending the previous three games in the press box. ... Senators D Dion Phaneuf was acquired exactly one year ago from the Toronto Maple Leafs. ... Stars LW Curtis McKenzie was scratched for the second consecutive game and fourth time in the last five. ... The Stars scratched D Julius Honka for the fourth game in a row. ... Stars C Jason Spezza, a former Senators captain, missed the game with an upper-body injury.