Senators 3, Islanders 1
OTTAWA -- Minus their injured scoring stars, the Ottawa Senators are going to be leaning even harder on their goaltending.
They received a second consecutive stellar performance from a masked man Tuesday at Scotiabank Place, as Craig Anderson made 37 saves in a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders.
The win came on the heels of a 2-1 victory in New Jersey over the Devils which starred backup goalie Ben Bishop.
Against the Islanders, Colin Greening and Andre Benoit scored second period goals, while rookie David Dziurzynski added another with 2:35 left in the third to seal the win.
It was the first NHL goal for both Benoit and Dzuiurzynski.
Travis Hamonic's blast from the point at 2:44 of the third period pulled the Islanders to within one, but Anderson would not allow them to get any closer.
Anderson was responsible for the Senators taking a 2-0 lead into the third period. By that point he had made 25 saves, including 17 in the second. Among those on the list of Islanders snipers he victimized were Matt Moulson, John Tavares and Josh Bailey. Anderson was also helped by his posts, as the Islanders hit a couple of them through 40 minutes.
Greening's goal came at 6:01 of the second, with Kyle Okposo in the box for holding. Daniel Alfredsson did the legwork, carrying the puck into the zone, before making a pass to the front of the net off Stephane Da Costa to where Greening met it, after muscling through a couple of Islanders. His shot beat Rick DiPietro low on the glove side.
The Ottawa lead doubled 2:36 later when Benoit one-timed a shot from the point after taking a feed from Jakob Silfverberg.
The Senators long injury list includes Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson, both of whom are out for at least two more months.
NOTES: Colin Greening's second-period power-play goal was the second of the season for the Senators left winger, ending his personal 10-game slump. ... Greening's effort also ended a drought for the Senators' power play, which was on an 0-for-24 slide. ... The goal by Senators defenseman Andre Benoit was his first in 21 NHL games. ... Heading into Tuesday's game, the Islanders' John Tavares was the only player among the NHL's top 10 scorers with a minus-rating in the plus-minus department. He was minus-6. ... No team in the NHL has a younger or less experienced group of centers than those starting in the middle for the Senators Tuesday -- Kyle Turris, Zack Smith, Stephane Da Costa and Derek Grant. ... The Senators entered the night with the second best penalty killing numbers in the league. Their 90.2 percent success rate was bettered only by Boston's 94.1 percent. ... Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro made his first start against Ottawa since Jan. 29, 2008. ... The Senators all-time record against the Islanders prior to Tuesday: 45-16-11-3.
