It certainly wasn't a pretty game on either side, but then again the Senators haven't exactly painted many Mona Lisa's this season but have found a way to win a lot of games. That was the case in Toronto on Saturday night where knuckleballs and defltections were the order of the night and the only way to beat a goalie in the course of play.

Bobby Ryan deflected home a Marc Methot shot in the first period to give the Senators the lead, but the game was tied up when Tyler Bozak didn't get all of his shot but it wobbled over Mike Condon's shoulder to tie the score on a Leafs power play.

Tied heading into the third, the Leafs took the lead after an Erik Karlsson defensive zone turnover to Nazem Kadri, whose shot went off the leg of Matt Martin on the doorstep and somehow trickled through Mike Condon.

It looked like the Leafs would hang on until the fatal puck over glass penalty to Martin Marincin allowed a late power play for the Senators. With the goalie out to make it 6 on 4, Mike Hoffman took a pass from Karlsson and one-timed it off Matt Hunwick, who got enough of it to slow it down but it found a way through Frederik Andersen's five hole to tie it up with 1:11 remaining.

An entertaining overtime solved nothing, although Boucher seemed to be playing for the shootout, having two defensemen on the ice as much as he had two forwards out, and it was off to the shootout. After Bobby Ryan and Mitch Marner exchanged goals in the first three rounds, it was off to the fourth round. Guy Boucher made another questionable call in the fourth round with a win on the line after Bozak was stopped by Condon - with the likes of Hoffman and Mark Stone still available, who does Boucher send out but Tom Pyatt, of course. However, unlike Chris Neil on Chris Neil night, Pyatt got the job done in his first career shootout attempt, roofing it on Andersen for a big extra point for his club.

The win gives the Senators a sweep of a tough three game road trip, as well as a three point edge over the Leafs and also moves them into sole possession of 2nd in the Atlantic, two points up on the struggling Bruins while still holding five games in hand on Boston.

So the attention now turns to Sunday night, and less than a 24-hour turnaround, coming home to face the Blue Jackets for the second time in four days.

With the win in Toronto, and the breathing space it provides, I would give Condon a rest and give Chris Driedger a game, because of the short turnaround (5:00 pm start) and also given the fact that they are in the midst of four games in six nights. With this now being less of a "must-win" game, having Condon rested for the two remaining games before the break, against the Capitals and the Flames, might put the Senators further ahead than riding him into the ground. Even if Craig Anderson returns after the All-Star break, as has been speculated, it will still take him a couple of weeks to get game ready, as per Boucher. So if you target Valentine's Day for Anderson, there are 6 games in 12 days between the end of the All-Star break and Buffalo on Feb 14th.

Both the Senators and Bule Jackets are going into this one in similar circumstances, both teams travelling to the Nation's Capital off 3-2 wins. Columbus downed Carolina on the road last night as well, so neither team has the advantage in terms of rest or lack of travel, although Ottawa's trip is shorter and didn't require customs.

Scott Hartnell scored twice, including the game winner for the Blue Jackets as they had a 2-0 first period lead that evaporated in the second before Hartnell netted the only goal in the third for the win.

Sergei Bobrovsky faced 37 shots in Raleigh, and Ottawa could get a look at backup Joonas Korpisalo in this one, so it might be a battle of the backups. After playing in 31 NHL games last season, Korpisalo has made only two appearances this season, on back to back nights last weekend on a Florida/Tamap trip, winning one and losing one. He spent a lot of time in the minors until Curtis McElhinney was picked up by Toronto on waivers to make room for him in Columbus.

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