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Tanguay, Canadiens topple reeling Senators

Nov 21, 2008 - 5:18 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Alex Tanguay scored in the fourth round of the shootout as the Montreal Canadiens handed the Ottawa Senators their sixth straight loss with a 3-2 triumph on Thursday in a battle of Northeast Division rivals.

Captain Saku Koivu and defenseman Andrei Markov tallied in regulation, Sergei Kostitsyn notched a pair of assists and Carey Price made 23 saves for Montreal, which improved to 3-4-1 in its last eight games.

"Obviously, this is a big win for us. The way we battled hard to come back twice and then finally win it in the shootout is just what we needed right now," Koivu said. "We know every point is huge, especially in our division, so getting a win here tonight is a shot in the arm for us. We knew it was going to be a tough win, and it was, and sometimes those are the best kind."

"We hadn't been playing well," Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau said. "We've been pressing and squeezing our sticks a little bit, but I thought we did a really good job tonight."

Dany Heatley and Nick Foligno scored, defenseman Alexandre Picard recorded two assists and Alex Auld turned aside 19 shots for Ottawa, which dropped its second straight contest in a shootout and fell to 0-4-2 in its last six games.

Despite the defeat, the Senators were doing their best to keep positive.

"Shootouts are obviously a tough way to lose," Auld said. "It's not fun to lose that way, but we have to look at the fact that we got a big point and we're moving in the right direction."

"You build character when you're facing adversity," Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "Everyone is pulling together right now, and that's what you want. Even though we lose games and we miss points here, we're taking the good things from these games and building on them. I think we're turning the corner."

In the fourth round of the bonus format, Tanguay backhanded the puck between the pads of Auld to end the contest.

"It's a move that either the goalie plays the shot there or he opens his legs to cover both posts," Tanguay said.

With Ottawa clinging to a 2-1 lead, Markov leveled the contest with 4:24 remaining in the third period by skating into the slot from the right faceoff circle and blasting a pair of shots. The first one broke Alfredsson's stick, but Markov quickly corralled the puck and unleashed a second shot, which sailed past Price for his second goal of the season.

Foligno had given the Senators the advantage just 4:58 into the session.

Picard blasted a shot from the left point that was denied by Price, but the puck remained loose near his right pad. Foligno dived toward the puck and poked it past Price and into the net for his third of the season.

"It hit me right in the middle of the pad, and normally those go into the corner, but it stuck underneath me," Price said. "I thought it was underneath my pad, but it kind of just sat there. The ref didn't blow the whistle and Foligno was right there to jab it in."

Foligno has enjoyed his share of success against Montreal in his young career. The 21-year-old recorded his first career goal against the Canadiens on October 18, 2007.

Heatley opened the scoring just 4:21 into the contest.

Price attempted to clear the puck from behind the net, but the netminder's bid was thwarted by Jason Spezza. The puck was sent back to the point, where Picard wristed a shot that was blocked by Markov.

Heatley corralled the loose puck in the slot and chipped it over a fallen Price for his 11th goal.

With his team on the power play, Koivu drew the Canadiens even just over nine minutes later, skating out from behind the end line and wristing the puck between the pads of Auld for his seventh tally of the campaign. The power-play goal was just Montreal's second in 28 opportunities.

"Our power play finally got a goal when we needed it, and that was a huge boost for us," Carbonneau said.