The Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers might not be geographic or divisional rivals, but when these two teams clash, fireworks are essentially guaranteed.
Saturday afternoon's contest - a 4-3 victory for Ottawa in the shootout - was no exception. Two high-flying attacks pushed the pace all night long, but in the end, it was Ottawa's goaltender - Craig Anderson - who proved to be the difference maker.
The first forty minutes of the afternoon affair were about as volatile as one could expect from two National Hockey League clubs. While the Philadelphia Flyers had a scoring opportunity on pretty much every possession in the first, they simply didn't have an answer for Craig Anderson.
On the flip side, Ottawa managed to beat Sergei Bobrovsky three consecutive times in the first twenty, with goals coming from Jason Spezza(32), Daniel Alfredsson(27), and Chris Neil(13).
The first two goals were the product of brilliant offensive zone work by Ottawa. On Spezza's tally, Daniel Alfredsson set-up Spezza on a back-door play, beating the unsuspecting Bobrovsky.
Alfredsson's slap-shot goal was entirely created by some nifty work just inside the blue line by Erik Karlsson, who managed to keep the puck in the zone and find the open Alfredsson in succession.
As for the third goal - well, an ugly one for Sergei Bobrovsky. Neil put a weak shot on net, and it somehow trickled through the net.
Although Ottawa took a three-goal lead into the second period, the peripheral numbers suggested Philadelphia would climb back into things. Erasing a three-goal deficit in less than twenty minutes, though, was still downright alarming.
The goaltending of Craig Anderson remained spectacular, but the help from his defense waned with each Philadelphia rush. Too many turnovers and sloppy positional play led to three Flyers goals in succession, coming from the likes of Wayne Simmonds(26), Sean Couturier(13), and Braydon Coburn(4).
Simmonds goal was easily the most painful of his career, and will probably remain so until he retires. Brayden Schenn's shot from the slot actually ricocheted off of Simmonds' face and into the net, and although Wayne was credited with the tally, he could hardly enjoy it. He missed extended time in the second for repairs with a huge gash on his grill.
Couturier's goal was pretty damn controversial to say the least. As soon as it went to review, you had the feeling that no matter the call, one fan base was going to be irate. Couturier's shot was trickling into the net while Filip Kuba was dislodging the net. Although it appeared that the net was off before the puck crossed the goal line, the NHL's War Room overturned the no-goal call on the ice, citing Rule 78.4:
At 14:38 of the second period in the Senators/Flyers game, video review determined that Sean Couturier's shot crossed the goal line before the net became completely dislodged from the peg. According to rule 78.4 "the goal frame shall be considered in its proper position when at least a portion of the flexible peg(s) are still inside both the goal post and the hole in the ice. The flexible pegs could be bent, but as long as at least a portion of the flexible peg(s) are still in the hole in the ice and the goal post, the goal frame shall be deemed to be in its proper position. The goal frame could be raised somewhat on one post (or both), but as long as the flexible pegs are still in contact with the holes in the ice and the goal posts, the goal frame shall not be deemed to be displaced." Good Goal Philadelphia.
Coburn's goal - the equalizer at 17:17 - came after another Ottawa defensive breakdown.
The third period, unlike the first two, fully resembled that of two teams playing for the desirable loser-point. There were still goal-scoring opportunities, including a memorable Kyle Turris post-job late, but the pace really slowed down as a whole.
Overtime was as wild as you'd expect four-on-four play between two high-scoring clubs. Philadelphia earned a power-play late, but didn't have an answer for Craig Anderson - a theme all afternoon.
In the shootout, both Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza beat Sergei Bobrovsky, and Craig Anderson turned away both Claude Giroux and Danny Briere en route to the victory. Giroux busted out the Martin St. Louis back-to-the-net for his attempt, but no dice.
The theme throughout the post-game? Craig Anderson coming up big. Although he allowed three goals, many of Craig Anderson's thirty-six stops came from high-scoring areas.
With the victory, the Ottawa Senators moved four points ahead of the Washington Capitals and four points(plus, via tiebreaker) ahead of the Buffalo Sabres with just four games left. Although both Buffalo and Washington draw easy opponents tonight, it's safe to say that Ottawa's feeling fairly comfortable regarding their playoff status.
The Flyers move within three points of the Penguins, which keeps them in a driver's seat of sorts regarding the fourth-overall seed. Philadelphia still has to play Pittsburgh twice, meaning so long as they're within striking distance, they can up-end their big rival for home-ice advantage in the first-round.
Ottawa's back in action in less than twenty-four hours when they head to Long Island to take on the Islanders. The Flyers are in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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