Final
Auld, Senators blank Predators
Feb 17, 2009 - 5:24 AM NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Alex Auld turned aside all 24 shots he faced for his sixth career shutout as the Ottawa Senators recorded their fifth consecutive victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Nashville Predators on Monday.All-Star Dany Heatley and Nick Foligno scored 8 1/2 minutes apart in the first period for Ottawa, which improved to 5-1-1 since Cory Clouston replaced the fired Craig Hartsburg as coach.
"We had a good first period," Heatley said matter-of-factly. "For the most part, we've done that pretty well this whole road trip in the other team's building.
"Obviously Nicky had a big goal to start it off, and to come out of the first period with a 2-0 lead is a good start."
Auld made the advantage stand up by stopping eight shots in all three periods for his first shutout of the season.
"He played very well. He looked very composed," Clouston said of Auld. "Our guys did a very good job of blocking out and making sure that the crease was clear. He looked really comfortable in there and he handled the puck really well. He did exactly what we needed him to do."
Rookie Pekka Rinne turned aside 22 shots for Nashville, which fell to 7-4-0 since the All-Star break.
"To me, it was very similar to the Detroit game," Predators coach Barry Trotz said, referring to his team's 5-3 loss to the Red Wings on Tuesday.
"We came out, stood around, and watched a team that is playing very well. We didn't manage the puck, we turned the puck over, we weren't in the hard areas and we didn't come out very well. We have done that in four of our last five games, and we are 1-3-0 when we've done that. We talked about it this morning, and we came out with a poor period, and we lost the game early."
All-Star defenseman Shea Weber summed it up more succinctly.
"Anytime we play at home, we should win," Weber said. "We can't dwell on this one though. We have to go forward and learn from our mistakes."
Foligno opened the scoring 5:20 into the first period.
After Rinne's clearing attempt was intercepted at the blue line, Mike Fisher alertly fed Foligno, who wired a wrist shot past the netminder for his 10th goal of the season.
"I didn't get all of it," Rinne said of his attempt. "I tried to get it off of the ice, but I didn't get it off of the ice and they had it on a 2-on-1. They put it in the back of the net. That is my mistake and that shouldn't happen."
Heatley doubled the advantage with 6:04 remaining in the session after skating into the left faceoff circle and wristing the puck just inside the crossbar for his team-leading 26th goal and fourth in three games.
"Initially I was going to try and make a pass, but the defenseman did a good job of taking that away and didn't give me much," Heatley said. "I was basically trying to get a corner and got lucky getting it in off of his arm."
The Senators then clamped down on defense, forcing the Predators to take shots from the perimeter.
"A lot of it comes from our defense," Ottawa's Mike Fisher said. "They are doing a great job of getting the puck moving and that's allowing us to get pucks in with speed. I think our neutral zone has been night and day, and our forecheck is creating turnovers.
"Because of that, we're allowed to use our speed and skill and go the other way. When you put those things together and start playing with the puck, you gain confidence. That's what is happening right now."
- NHL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
OTTAWA 2 0 0 2
NASHVILLE 0 0 0 0 FINAL
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: OTT - NICK FOLIGNO 10 (MIKE FISHER) 5:20
OTT - DANY HEATLEY 26 (JASON SPEZZA, BRIAN LEE) 13:56
2ND PRD: NONE
3RD PRD: NONE
POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: OTT - 0 OF 4, NAS - 0 OF 4.
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
Feb 16 10:25 PM - NHL
END OF THE 2ND 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
OTTAWA 2 0 2
NASHVILLE 0 0 0 END OF THE 2ND
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: OTT - NICK FOLIGNO 10 (MIKE FISHER) 5:20
OTT - DANY HEATLEY 26 (JASON SPEZZA, BRIAN LEE) 13:56
2ND PRD: NONE
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
OTT 13 4 17
NAS
Feb 16 9:36 PM - NHL
END OF THE 1ST 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
OTTAWA 2 2
NASHVILLE 0 0 END OF THE 1ST
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: OTT - NICK FOLIGNO 10 (MIKE FISHER) 5:20
OTT - DANY HEATLEY 26 (JASON SPEZZA, BRIAN LEE) 13:56
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
OTT 13 13
NAS 8
Feb 16 8:47 PM - NHL
OTTAWA 2
NASHVILLE 0
1ST PRD: OTT - DANY HEATLEY 26 (JASON SPEZZA, BRIAN LEE) 13:56
Senators 2, Predators 0 1st - 6:04Feb 16 8:38 PM - NHL
OTTAWA 1
NASHVILLE 0
1ST PRD: OTT - NICK FOLIGNO 10 (MIKE FISHER) 5:20
Senators 1, Predators 0 1st - 14:40Feb 16 8:20 PM
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