National Hockey League
Ottawa 3, Boston 1
When: 5:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 27, 2015
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees: Francis Charron, Eric Furlatt
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Derek Nansen
Attendance: 20061

OTTAWA -- Senators goalie Craig Anderson picked up right where he left off before the Christmas break, only this time the end result was in his favor.

Anderson made 38 saves as Ottawa defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1 Sunday at Canadian Tire Centre, the Senators' first game since 2-1 shootout loss to Florida on Dec. 22 in which he made 39 stops.

"Sometimes statistics don't tell the whole story," Anderson said. "I thought we played a solid game. We were in the right spots at the right time. We gave up a lot of perimeter shots with some traffic, but our guys did a great job blocking shots, boxing out, the little things that make a difference."

Winger Mark Stone led the Senators with two goals, including an empty-netter to ice the win and stop Ottawa's losing streak at two games. Center Mika Zibanejad had the game-winner.

Bruins center David Krejci scored his team's only goal in the second period before leaving with an upper-body injury. Goalie Tuukka Rask made 19 saves in the Boston net.

"I don't think that you have to second guess that the effort wasn't good enough," said Bruins coach Claude Julien, whose team lost its third in a row. "I think at the end of the day, they took advantage of their chances and made the most of it and we had ours, had lots of them. Their goalie played well for them tonight, and we weren't able to bury (out opportunities), and I think that's really the story of the game tonight. One shot away, and we weren't able to get that."

The task of coming back from a 2-1 deficit was made more difficult without Krejci.

"We've lost a lot of players this year, key players," Julien said. "We're a team that's got a lot of new faces. We're trying to battle through those situations. Krejci is a big part of our team. When you lose a guy like him, not to name the others who have been out for a while, we've just got to suck it up. Guys have to step up and do the job, it's as simple as that."

The win drew the Senators (18-12-6) into a tie with the Bruins (19-12-4) in the close Atlantic Division standings.

Anderson stopped all 16 shots he faced in the first period, and the Senators went into the intermission with a 1-0 lead thanks to Stone's power-play goal with 18.9 seconds left.

Standing behind the Boston net, Stone bounced a shot in off the right skate of Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who was located directly in front of Rask.

The goal, Stone's second in two games, snapped a streak of 26 consecutive penalty kills by the Bruins.

"I was just trying to get some pucks to the net," Stone said. "We struggled on our first power play, so just looking to get something in and around the net, with bodies going towards it.

"I was looking to give it to (winger) Bobby (Ryan). He wasn't even there, so it was just a terrible play that ended up working."

Krejci tied the game with his 11th goal of the season at the 7:54 mark of the second period, stepping out from behind the goal line and making a nice move to kick the puck to his stick before taking a short shot low on Anderson's glove side. While the referee standing behind the net ruled it was a save, the call was overturned after a lengthy review.

"It was inconclusive, I'm sure, but there was obviously enough evidence to show it was in the net," Anderson said. "The puck was underneath my skate. They obviously saw something that made them call it a goal."

The Senators got that one back at 18:21 of the second on a play that was started on a nice move by winger Mike Hoffman in the neutral zone. After carrying the puck across the blue line, Hoffman passed off to his right, and Ryan then charged to the net. Ryan put his shot off the right pad of Rask, and the rebound came out to Zibanejad, who had a wide-open cage before him.

"Those losses happen and those kind of games happen," Rask said. "We just have to make sure we keep playing like we played today. I thought we played a great game. We had chances, and defensively we were very solid. We have to try and take that positive and move on, but still, you don't like losing."

The teams meet again Tuesday in Boston.

NOTES: Bruins C Max Talbot returned from a two-game suspension. Bruins RW Tyler Randell was taken out of the lineup to make room for Talbot. ... Bruins D Torey Krug missed the game with a facial/head injury sustained Saturday against Buffalo. Krug, who did not make the trip to Ottawa, was replaced in the lineup by D Joe Morrow. ... Bruins D Colin Miller was scratched and replaced by Bruins D Zach Trotman. ... Senators F Curtis Lazar missed the game with a lower-body injury sustained against Florida just before the Christmas break. Lazar's status is day-to-day. To replace him, Senators recalled C Max McCormick from AHL Binghamton. McCormick played his first four NHL games when he was called up in October. ... Senators D Cody Ceci missed his second game with an upper-body injury. Coach Dave Cameron said Ceci's status is week-to-week.
Top Game Performances
 
Boston   Ottawa
David Krejci 1 Points Mark Stone 2
David Krejci 1 Goals Mark Stone 2
Matt Beleskey 1 Assists Erik Karlsson 2
N/A Power Play Goals Mark Stone 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Tuukka Rask .905 Save Percentage Craig Anderson .974
Tuukka Rask 19 Saves Craig Anderson 38
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Boston 39 1 0-2 1-2 19 33
Ottawa 22 3 1-2 2-2 9 20
Upcoming Games
  • Ottawa will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Senators have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .556 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Ottawa. The Bruins have a W/L % of .579 after a win and .500 after a loss.