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Senators finish strong to down Maple Leafs

Jan 18, 2012 - 5:32 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Craig Anderson made 37 saves and the Ottawa Senators scored three unanswered goals to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2.

Kyle Turris and Daniel Alfredsson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators, who bounced back from a 2-0 loss to the Jets on Monday. Jason Spezza also lit the lamp.

"Overall, just a great way to find a win," said Anderson. "Obviously it was not the start we wanted, getting down two goals, but we're a pretty resilient team. We battled through it, found a way to get it back to 2-2 and came up with a big goal in the third."

Joffrey Lupul and Matthew Lombardi scored for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three in a row since a four-game winning streak.

James Reimer made 18 saves in his first start since December 31.

The Maple Leafs drew first blood at the 6:51 mark of the first period. Lombardi's shot from the top of the right circle snuck through the legs of Anderson.

Lupul made it a 2-0 game with 4:25 left. Phil Kessel stole the puck away from an Ottawa player in his own zone before leading a charge up the right side. Kessel slid a pass to Lupul, whose snap shot beat Anderson.

The Senators got on the board with just 7.5 seconds to play in the opening frame. Milan Michalek controlled the puck behind the net and slid a pass to the slot for Alfredsson, whose backhander got past Reimer.

Ottawa tied the game at the 16:46 mark of the middle stanza. Filip Kuba's slapper from the left point hit off Bobby Butler's leg in front. The disc trickled to the side of the net for Kaspars Daugavins, who kicked the puck with his skate. Spezza managed to put his stick down at the last second and guide the puck across the line. It was determined that Spezza did touch the puck with his stick before it went in.

Anderson kept the Senators in the game in the second stanza by making 21 saves.

Turris gave Ottawa a 3-2 lead at the 1:24 mark of the third period. Turris gathered a loose puck at the blue line and beat Reimer with a wrister from the right circle.

Anderson made eight saves in the final frame.

"We let the hang around," Lombardi said. "They took advantage of their opportunities and stuck with it. We got away from our game a few times and it bit us in the end."

Game Notes

Ottawa has won three straight against Toronto...The Senators started a six- game road trip on Tuesday...Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak returned to the lineup after missing seven games with an upper-body injury.