Wild 3 - 4 Senators
Final - 2OT
  for this game

Spezza lifts Senators over Wild in shootout

Oct 12, 2011 - 4:48 AM Ottawa, ON (Sports Network) - Jason Spezza scored the deciding goal in the shootout as the Ottawa Senators rallied to take a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Place.

Milan Michalek lifted a backhand over Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom's glove before Spezza raced up the middle and wristed a shot through Backstrom's legs to seal win.

Chris Neil registered a goal and an assist and Craig Anderson stopped 24 shots as the Senators earned their first win of the season.

"We've been plugging away here through training camp and working real hard so it's nice to see the guys getting rewarded," Spezza said about the win.

Kyle Brodziak, Devin Setoguchi and Nick Johnson notched goals for the Wild.

Backstrom allowed three goals on 44 shots in a losing effort.

After facing almost constant pressure by Ottawa through the first portion of the opening period, Minnesota got on the board first when Brodziak got his stick on a Clayton Stoner shot from the left circle and the puck skipped past Anderson.

Spezza was called for a slashing penalty with less than two minutes remaining in the first and the Wild quickly capitalized for a 2-0 lead. Dany Heatley sent a pass down to Mikko Koivu in the corner, who slid the puck to the high slot and Setoguchi's one-timer flew past the glove of Anderson with 49 seconds to go.

Ottawa made it a one-goal game at the 8:17 mark of the second period. Nick Foligno took the puck from behind the Wild's net, circled around to the slot and passed it to Neil on the side of the goal. Neil took a quick shot that was blocked by Backstrom and Foligno stuffed the rebound home. It was the first goal by the Senators this season that was not scored in the third period.

But Minnesota got its cushion back early in the third. After the Wild won a faceoff inside Ottawa territory, Johnson rushed towards the side of the net and took a shot. Anderson made the save, but as Spezza tried to clear the puck, he pushed it into his teammate David Rundblad's skate and it deflected into the net.

The Senators answered less than five minutes later when Neil collected a Peter Regin rebound from a wraparound and lifted the puck over Backstrom from a sharp angle. The play was reviewed but the goal was upheld as the puck snuck just under the crossbar.

A Colin Greening power-play goal then knotted the game at three with 11:38 left in regulation. Michalek's shot from the high slot was blocked by a defender and Greening fired the puck out of a scrum in front of the net and into the twine.

"It's disappointing," Heatley said. "We had a two-goal lead in the third period and we have got to hang on to that."

Game Notes

Heatley made his return to Ottawa for the first time as a member of the Wild and had an assist. Heatley spent four seasons in Ottawa before demanding a trade in the summer of 2009...The Senators have now won six straight against Minnesota and have not lost to the Wild since March 16, 2004...Ottawa outshot Minnesota 28-15 over the last two periods and overtime.






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