Senators 4, Jets 1
OTTAWA -- The Ottawa Senators took care of business in relative comfort for a change Sunday.
After 11 straight one goal games, they defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 at a sold-out Scotiabank Place.
It was the Senators' second win in two days and snapped the Jets winning streak at three.
Jakob Silfverberg led the Senators with two goals. Guillaume Latendresse and Kyle Turris had the others. Senators goalie Robin Lehner made 25 saves for his second victory of the season.
Zach Bogosian scored for Winnipeg. Goalie Ondrej Pavelec was Winnipeg's best player, making 38 saves.
Daniel Alfredsson did the legwork on the game opening goal at the 3:44 mark of the first period, pushing the puck past Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and then his partner, Grant Clitsome. Latendresse finished off the play by directing the puck past Pavelec for his second goal of the season and third point in four games since returning from the injury list.
The Senators took control of play during a slashing penalty to Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler at the midway mark of the first. They didn't score with Wheeler in the box, but they did have five shots on goal.
With their second man advantage opportunity, the Senators went up 2-0. Sergei Gonchar found Silfverberg with a pass through the slot, and the rookie Swede quickly fired the puck into the open side. It was the fifth goal of the season for Silfverberg.
After a scoreless second period, Bogosian narrowed the gap in with just over 16 minutes remaining in regulation time. His one-timer from the point changed directions early before going over Lehner's glove and in off the crossbar.
The Jets had a great chance to tie the game while killing a goaltender interference penalty to Dustin Byfuglien. Lehner, who was shaken up on the play, made the save of the game with his left leg, robbing Evander Kane's chance at the tail end of a 2-on-1.
That would be as close as the Jets would get to tying it.
With Ron Hainsey in the box, Turris scored his third goal in two games, finding mesh with a sharp angle shot after taking a pass from Alfredsson. Then, 75 seconds later, Silfverberg scored his second with his trademark quick release shot from the left wing faceoff dot.
NOTES: Jakob Silfverberg's first-period goal stopped a streak of 29 consecutive penalty kills for the Jets. ... The Senators record in previous St. Patty's Day games is 7-2-2. ... Senator's defenseman Sergei Gonchar extended his consecutive games point scoring streak to seven. ... Jets center Nik Antropov entered the day with a five-game point scoring streak. ... The Senators outshot the Jets 19-6 in the first period. ... Winnipeg entered the game with a 10-5-1 record since Feb. 15, when defenseman Zach Bogosian returned to the lineup from a wrist injury. ... Robin Lehner made his sixth start since being recalled from Binghamton, but it was only his second appearance at Scotiabank Place. Four of Lehner's first five games went to overtime.
