The fight for Ontario didn’t go as planned for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were outplayed in a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.
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After beating the New York Islanders 2-1 on Wednesday, DJ Smith’s men showed great confidence against their Canadian rivals in today’s clash. They aimed 34 shots at Ilya Samsonov’s cage and their most powerful guns responded.
Captain Brady Tkachuk lived up to his reputation with a great game against the odds. He scored his 18th goal of the season at the start of the second period, then again in the third period thanks to a perfect shot.
The French-speaking players also gave the Queen City team a headache. Thomas Chabot, Derick Brassard and Claude Giroux all engineered the win.
Drake Batherson has also shook the ropes for the Senators, who need a string of victories to cling to their dream of reaching the playoffs.
Robbing Auston Matthews, Sheldon Keefe’s squad was simply demoted in front of his supporters.
In his first game in the National Hockey League in almost a month, Joey Anderson took his chance by scoring a tie in the top twenty. Anton Forsberg, author of 31 saves to win, was helpless before his quick wrist throw.
All fire, all fire Since the start of the season, William Nylander has also blacked out the top scorer. During the massive attack, he scored his 27th goal and 58th point of the season.
Necas makes a show
At the PNC Arena, Czech forward Martin Necas had an impressive finish to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-4 overtime win over the San Jose Sharks.
With just 12 seconds left in the third period, Necas forced extra time after being spotted by Andrei Svechnikov. In extra time, the two young forwards joined forces in a two-on-one race to give their team victory.
Necas thus reached the plateau of 20 goals for the first time in his career. He too has set a personal best this season with 44 points in 48 games.
Sebastian Aho imitated Necas by scoring two goals for the Canes. Calvin de Haan was the other player to defeat James Reimer, who had lost 36 pucks.
Oskar Lindblom, Nick Bonino, Michael Eyssimont and Mario Ferraro answered for the Sharks. The California team has won only two of their last 11 duels.