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McAmmond guides Senators to rare road win

Jan 15, 2009 - 5:02 AM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Ottawa Senators opened the second half of the season with a much-needed road win.

Dean McAmmond snapped a tie with 5:37 remaining in the second period and the Senators held on for a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Wednesday.

Captain Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza each recorded a power-play goal and an assist for Ottawa, which won for just the second time in its last 18 games away from Scotiabank Place (2-13-3).

"Our spirits are good and the guys are battling," said Senators coach Craig Hartsburg, who notched his 199th career win. "It's a tough day getting in at 4:00 a.m. EST, but our guys showed a lot of character."

Rookie Brian Elliott made 29 saves for the Senators, who improved to 3-7-1 in their last 11 overall. It was the second victory of the season and third career for Elliott, who was recalled from the American Hockey League on Friday and was unaware of Ottawa's road struggles.

"I haven't seen (our road) record," the 23-year-old said. "Getting a win on the road is hard enough without the added pressure."

Former Senator Todd White and Chris Thorburn scored for Atlanta, which has lost four of its last five games and eight of 10 (2-7-1).

Things have not been good in unfamiliar surroundings for the Senators, who stormed into Atlanta with just one win away from home since opening the season with three wins in their first four road games.

Of course, it helped that they were playing the Thrashers, who have been unable to do much of anything at Philips Arena. Atlanta fell to 2-10-2 in its last 14 home contests.

"We had some chances and had a lot of shots," said Thrashers center Rich Peverley, who was making his debut with the team on a line with superstar Ilya Kovalchuk after being claimed off waivers from the Nashville Predators on Saturday. "But they played well, too."

McAmmond helped the Senators snap a four-game road slide (0-3-1), breaking a 2-2 deadlock with his third goal of the season.

After receiving a pass from Jarkko Ruutu in the neutral zone, McAmmond skated between defensemen Mathieu Schneider and rookie Zach Bogosian for a breakaway. While falling after being checked from behind by Bogosian, McAmmond fired the puck past goaltender Kari Lehtonen to give Ottawa back-to-back wins for the first time since December 3-6.

"We've struggled on the road," Spezza said. "We played with a lot more confidence the last couple of games. We did a real good job of holding on to the lead in the third."

It was another strong performance in net by Elliott, who turned aside eight shots in the third period, including a backhander by rookie Bryan Little off a rebound with nine seconds remaining.

"I thought Brian Elliott played good," Hartsburg said. "He made some huge saves for us late in the game. I thought he looked a little nervous in the beginning, but he got bigger and bigger in net as the game went on."

Ironically, McAmmond also factored in the first goal of the contest.

The veteran left wing was called for hooking 5:18 into the first period, and White cashed in 19 seconds later. Vyacheslav Kozlov completed a pass from behind the net to White, who drilled the puck past Elliott from the left faceoff circle for his 14th tally of the season.

But the Senators answered with a power-play goal of their own just over a minute later to forge a 1-1 tie.

With Thorburn in the penalty box for high-sticking, Alfredsson beat Lehtonen with a one-timer from the left faceoff dot at 6:41 for his 12th of the campaign.

Thorburn atoned for his miscue later in the session, banging in a knuckling rebound from the doorstep with 4:32 remaining to give Atlanta a 2-1 advantage. But Spezza converted a man-advantage opportunity with 1:51 to go, beating Lehtonen to the stick side with a slap shot from the top of the left circle to again knot the game.

It was the 10th point in eight games for Spezza, who also helped set up Alfredsson's goal.

"I felt good," Spezza said. "I know I've got to be good for our team to do well."

Lehtonen turned aside 27 shots for the Thrashers, while All-Star Kovalchuk had his three-game goal-scoring streak snapped in his debut as team captain. The 25-year-old Russian received the honor on Monday.

"It didn't really feel different," Kovalchuk said of wearing the C on his jersey. "It is definitely a special night in my career, but I wanted to win the game."