Senators Shoot Past Stars in 4-1 Win

The Ottawa Senators improved their season record to 3-2-1 with a late come-from-behind 4-1 victory against the Dallas Stars at Canadian Tire Centre Monday night. The Stars record falls to 3-2-0.

Late Rally

Despite a slow start to the game, the Senators turned on the action in the final 21 minutes of play and score four unanswered goals. Max Lajoie ignited the Senators offence with only 19.2 seconds remaining in the second period. According to the NHL Public Relations Twitter account, @PR_NHL, no defenseman in Senators history, regardless of status, has recorded more points in their first six games with the team. This offensive momentum carried through the second intermission when Brady Tkachuk scored the game winning goal 1:27 into the third period. Mikkel Boedker added an insurance goal, before Zack Smith sealed the deal with an empty netter.

Dallas Guns Silenced

For the second straight game, Ottawa’s Ben Harpur found himself tasked with large responsibilities from head coach Guy Boucher. Previously, against the Los Angeles Kings, Harpur was named the Senators player of the game and logged a team-high 22:37 minutes of ice-time in his debut.

“Right now, I love the reload. Whenever we attack hard, we defend hard because we reload fast. And, the last two games, contrary to all the previous games, is that we’ve been able to defend against the top players of the opposing team.” Senators head coach Guy Boucher.

Against the Stars on Monday night, Harpur and his defense partner Mark Borowiecki, followed up by effectively shutting-down one of the most dangerous lines in hockey. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn were both held off the score sheet. This is significant, considering both players entered the game with 10 and eight points, respectively, over the course of four games. Harpur and Borowiecki logged 21:13 and 18:01 of time on ice this game, including major time on the penalty killing unit. The Senators penalty kill was 75 percent successful versus Dallas. To add insult, Borowiecki delivered one of the biggest hits of the game on Stars captain, Benn, early in the third period.

Craig “The Wall” Anderson

Ottawa’s goaltender Craig Anderson had a strong game between the pipes to earn his third win of the 2018-19 campaign. Anderson kept the Senators in the game early when he was tested multiple times on a dangerous Dallas power play. He was steady from that point on. This included a late flurry from the Stars with seven minutes remaining when they decided to pull Ben Bishop for an extra attacker. Craig “The Wall” Anderson was named the game’s first star of the night, and he finished with 37 saves on 38 shots, 1.00 goals against average, and a .974 save percentage.

Remembering Ray Emery

During the first TV commercial time-out of the game, the Ottawa Senators honoured former Senator Ray Emery with a classy and touching video tribute. This past summer, Emery passed away suddenly at the age of 35, when he accidentally drowned in the Hamilton Harbour. The video evoked a standing ovation from the crowd at the Canadian Tire Centre, and had an emotional impact on former teammates. This included former Senator and current Dallas Star forward, Jason Spezza.

Many Senator fans hold fond memories of Emery during his time in Ottawa. He backed the Senators to their first modern day appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals during the 2006-07 season. In addition, he was legendary for his fight night in Buffalo, when he willingly- and happily- fought both Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller and tough guy Andrew Peters. Readers may watch this tribute through the Senators Twitter account, @Senators, by clicking here.

Snap Shots

• The Senators are now 2-0 this season when dressing seven defencemen.
• Three former Senators dressed for the Stars tonight: Jason Spezza, Marc Methot, and Ben Bishop.
• Chris Tierney continues his point streak with eight points in six games.
• Unfortunately for Thomas Chabot, his point streak came to an end against the Stars. However, he continues to wield an above point per game average on the season.
• Boedker’s first goal of the season was also his first as an Ottawa Senator. Boedker was acquired in the off-season from the San Jose Sharks as part of the Mike Hoffman. In six games with Ottawa, Boedker has five points (1G, 4A).
• Matt Duchene and Bobby Ryan made some incredibly slick passes to generate offense against Dallas. This included Duchene’s beautiful assist on Boedker’s goal, which completely fooled Bishop.

Official 3 Stars of the Game:

• Craig Anderson, Ottawa
• Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa
• Matt Duchene, Ottawa

Up Next

The Ottawa Senators welcome their Atlantic Division rivals from Montreal to the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night.

Scoring Summary

Cover Photo Credit: Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Billy Morrison covers the Ottawa Senators and the Atlantic Division for Full Press Coverage. Follow Billy on Twitter, @BillyMorrison01.