The Ottawa Senators kicked off 2015 with a overtime win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon. Bobby Ryan, fresh off a hat trick performance against the Buffalo Sabres, continued his hot hand by finishing an Erik Karlsson pass and scoring in overtime to secure the comeback. The Senators tied the game late in the third period thanks to a redirect by Mike Hoffman, who leads the team in goals. But the impressive win was followed up by a disappointing performance in a 4-2 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Though Ottawa led just 32 seconds in thanks to a sneaky shot by Kyle Turris, penalty troubles eventually cost the game. The Senators can get back on track, but it won’t be easy as they embark on a four-game road swing. This week features games against the Philadelphia Flyers (Tuesday, 7pm), Colorado Avalanche (Thursday, 9pm), and Phoenix Coyotes (Saturday, 7pm).
See-saw results defined the Ottawa 67’s in the 2014 portion of the schedule, and little has changed as we transition to 2015. An impressive 7-0 thrashing of the Sudbury Wolves on Friday night was followed by a difficult 7-3 loss to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds the next night. The 67’s used great teamwork to turn aside the Wolves, receiving goals from seven different players. Despite the distribution of scoring, captain Travis Konecny wowed the visiting crowd with a 3-point, +5 performance. Leo Lazarev stopped 22 shots to pick up the shutout. But the wheels fell off against Sault Ste. Marie, with backup netminder Marcus Semiao conceding all seven goals. Another busy week gives the young team an opportunity to build toward something, with games against the North Bay Battalion (Tuesday), Peterborough Petes (Thursday), Windsor Spitfires (Friday), and Kingston Frontenacs (Sunday).
Curtis Lazar continues to make a good name for himself as Team Canada captain. Offensively, he is leading the entire World Junior Tournament in goals and is top 5 in points. Nick Paul, a prospect acquired in the Jason Spezza trade, has impressed with his size and hands, scoring two goals so far in the tournament. The two players will hope for big performances in tonight’s Gold Medal game against Russia. Lazar will hope to add a gold medal to his cabinet that already includes a silver from last year’s tournament and a Memorial Cup.
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