If you managed to stay up late and watch the Senators - Sharks game in its entirety, congratulations and I hope that third coffee is going down ok this morning.

You probably also got a feeling of deja vu, as the Senators opened up a two goal lead and managed to cough it up before Chris Kelly hopped on a loose puck and put the winner over the shoulder of Martin Jones for the game winner with just over a minute left.

Mike Condon continued to be more than a stop-gap measure in the Senators goal. The replacement for Craig Anderson made 35 saves, including 17 on 18 third period shots to keep his team in the game at a time where the home side pressed for the win.

The Senators got out to an early lead on a Mark Stone power play goal, followed shortly thereafter by an Erik Karlsson wrister that got through traffic and past Jones. The goal, combined with his assist on Stone's goal, moved Karlsson past Wade Redden for first place among the franchises defensemen. Karlsson added an assist on Kelly's winner for a three point night and seven points in his last two games.

Bobby Ryan made a surprising return to the lineup after missing the last three games, but he might as well not have given the lack of impact he had on the game. The Sharks carried most of the play on the night, and Ottawa was fortunate to get out of town with the win. San Jose had 78 shot attempts, compared to Ottawa's 36, which isn't a be-all end-all stat but tells a lot of the story. They had five days of rest, came out quick and probably deserved a better fate.

But Ottawa weathered the storm and got a bounce late, resulting in a goal from an unexpected source in Kelly, who hadn't scored in 22 games but it couldn't have come at a better time. They found a way to win, scored 4 goals including an empty netter, and rode hot goaltending and shot-blocking (of which they had 21).

Ottawa now has a couple of days off ahead of the weekend back to back, Saturday in LA and Sunday in Anaheim that will wrap up the four game road trip. The Anaheim game could feature former Senators first rounder Stefan Noesen, who was called up by the Ducks yesterday and scored his first career NHL goal last night against Carolina.

Join the Discussion: » 7 Comments » Post New Comment

» Goodbye, and good luck!

» Can Colin White fill the #2C role as early as next year?

» Boucher staying put, at least for now

» Boucher Day

» Sens fall to #4 in draft lottery