| TORONTO (TICKER) -- Alexei Yashin helped the Ottawa Senators
continue their dominance of the "Battle of Ontario."
Yashin scored his second goal of the game 42 seconds into overtime,
lifting the Eastern Conference-leading Senators to a 3-2 victory over the
Toronto Maple Leafs and a sweep of the four-game season series.
Skating down the right side on a 3-on-1, Yashin pulled up in the faceoff
circle and ripped a snap shot between the legs of defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich
that beat goaltender Curtis Joseph to the glove side.
"It's always great to play in Toronto and it feels good to help the
team win," Yashin said. "It was an important win because we are fighting
for first place in the conference. We are playing with great chemistry."
"Yashin is very patient with the puck, and when he has time he can pick
a corner," said Joseph.
Toronto captain Matt Sundin cashed in a 5-on-3 power play to open the
scoring 2:11 into the first period, but Yashin tied it with a shorthanded
goal with 5:46 left in the first. He reached the 30-goal mark for the fifth
time.
Todd White scored on a deflection of Wade Redden's slap shot to give
Ottawa a 2-1 lead 5:56 into the second period. Steve Thomas pulled Toronto
even with 1:13 remaining in the period.
The Senators have won nine of their last 11 games and are 8-1-1 in the
last 10 meetings with the Maple Leafs. They opened a six-point lead over
Philadelphia in the battle for the top seed in the East.
Joseph kept the Leafs in the game with 39 saves while Patrick Lalime
stopped 27 shots for the Senators. Ottawa outshot Toronto, 16-14, in a
frantic third period.
"In the third period, we played better," Toronto coach Pat Quinn said.
"They played a trap game and we didn't move the puck well. They're a good
hockey team and when you give them the puck, they will score. Our forwards
weren't there to back up our defense."
"We had our chances to win, but Lalime made some big saves," Joseph
added. "We've had a lot of trouble with Ottawa, and Yashin has added a
dimension they were missing last year."
Toronto got the early lead when Sundin tipped Jonas Hogland's shot and
appeared to get a break when Ottawa's Marian Hossa was called for tripping.
Two Toronto players collided, but replays seemed to show there was no contact
by Hossa.
"We played an excellent game," Redden said. "It was very intense out
there. Cujo played well for them, but we never let down. Every point is
huge at this stage of the season."
But in what could amount to poetic justice for the Senators, Yashin
raced down the right side, deked Joseph to the ice and flipped the puck
over the fallen goalie's glove.
After taking the lead on White's goal, Ottawa dominated the second period,
outshooting the Leafs, 15-7. But Thomas tied it with another pretty goal
off a three-way passing play. Sundin feathered a cross-ice pass in the
slot to Thomas, who rifled a one-timer inside the right goalpost.
"We are playing better and our focus is finally back on hockey instead
of trade rumors," Sundin said. "Ottawa is No. 1 in our conference and we
certainly could have won this game. We think we have what it takes to win."
The Leafs have gotten back on track after Quinn announced the club no
longer would pursue a trade with Philadelphia for Eric Lindros, which clearly
was a distraction for the club.
Toronto was denied its first three-game winning streak since December
6-13, but the Leafs have won four of their last six contests. They defeated
San Jose and Washington earlier this week.
"Overall, we played three good teams this week and five of six points
is acceptable," Quinn said.
-------------------------------
Ottawa 1 1 0 1--3
Toronto 1 1 0 0--2
-------------------------------
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Toronto, Sundin 22 (power play) (Hoglund,
Kaberle), 2:11. 2, Ottawa, Yashin 30 (shorthanded) (Dackell), 14:14.
Penalties: Fisher, Ott (cross checking), 0:53; Zamuner, Ott (holding),
1:45; Korolev, Tor (slashing), 4:09; Hossa, Ott (tripping), 13:17; Manson,
Tor (high sticking), 17:17; G Roberts, Tor (goalie interference), 19:47.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Ottawa, White 2 (Redden, Roy), 5:56. 4,
Toronto, Thomas 6 (Sundin, Di Yushkevich), 18:47. Penalties: Redden, Ott
(interference), 2:57; Sundin, Tor (roughing), 6:28; Antropov, Tor
(tripping), 11:48.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Zamuner, Ott (tripping), 6:00;
Thomas, Tor (boarding), 7:40; Bonk, Ott (cross checking), 9:47; Di
Yushkevich, Tor (high sticking), 9:47.
OVERTIME -- Scoring: 5, Ottawa, Yashin 31 (Redden), 0:42.
Shots on goal:
------------------------------------
Ottawa 12 15 14 1--42
Toronto 6 7 16 0--29
------------------------------------
Power-play Conversions: Ott - 0 of 6, Tor - 1 of 5. Goalies: Ottawa,
Lalime (29 shots, 27 saves; record: 28-15-4). Toronto, Joseph (42, 39;
record: 27-22-7). A:19,367. Referees: Jackson, Larue. Linesmen:
Henderson, Scapinello.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS
Ottawa Toronto
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
Alfredsson 0 0 -1 7 Antropov 0 0 even 0
Arvedson 0 0 even 3 B Mccabe 0 0 -1 3
Bonk 0 0 even 0 Belak 0 0 even 0
Dackell 0 1 +2 0 Corson 0 0 -1 2
Fisher 0 0 even 0 Dempsey 0 0 -1 0
Havlat 0 0 even 3 Di Yushkevich 0 1 even 1
Hnidy 0 0 even 1 Domi 0 0 even 0
Hossa 0 0 even 5 G Roberts 0 0 even 1
Mceachern 0 0 even 4 Hoglund 0 1 -1 1
Persson 0 0 -1 2 Kaberle 0 1 -1 1
Phillips 0 0 +1 0 Korolev 0 0 even 1
Rachunek 0 0 +2 1 Manson 0 0 -1 0
Redden 0 2 +2 4 Perreault 0 0 even 1
Roy 0 1 +1 1 S Berezin 0 0 even 7
White 1 0 +1 3 Sundin 1 1 -1 5
Yashin 2 0 +1 5 Thomas 1 0 -1 3
York 0 0 even 2 Tucker 0 0 -1 3
Zamuner 0 0 even 1 Valk 0 0 even 0
Lacroix Healthy Ponikarovsky Healthy
Rivers Healthy
Emmons Healthy
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