National Hockey League
Ottawa 2, Anaheim 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 22, 2016
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees: Ghislain Hebert, Marc Joannette
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Steve Miller
Attendance: 17125

OTTAWA -- To hear Mike Hoffman tell it, scoring in overtime Thursday was simply a matter of taking advantage of a gift.

The subtle setup pass by Dion Phaneuf was the key.

"It's my job to put the puck in the net when it comes to me there," Hoffman said after his one-timer from just below the right wing dot at 4:03 of the extra session gave the Senators a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at Canadian Tire Centre. "I think Dion made a pretty good fake and got the goalie to go down in the butterfly, which kind of made the net open.

"Then you've just got to hit it."

The goal, Hoffman's 10th of the season, was a power-play effort. Anaheim's Andrew Cogliano was in the box for high sticking Hoffman.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Senators (20-11-3), who took nine of 10 available points since losing a 5-1 decision in Anaheim that coach Guy Boucher called a "no-show" by his team.

It was the final stop of a six game road trip for the Ducks (17-12-6), who lost 5-1 in Montreal on Tuesday and finished the trek 2-3-1.

"We owed those guys from last time," said Senators goalie Mike Condon, who stopped 24 shots to improve his record to 8-3-2. "It's just what we need going into the break."

Ryan Dzingel's eighth of the season gave the Senators a second-period lead that was erased when Jakub Silfverberg scored his ninth only 10 seconds before the intermission, with Anaheim on the power play.

John Gibson made 16 saves for the Ducks, who are playing 11 of 15 games on the road this month.

"That's West Coast hockey," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We know that it's been a grind. When you play back-to-back on the road and you've been out for 13 days, 14 days, it does take its toll. We had a day yesterday to re-energize ourself with a day off. Hopefully the guys did some Christmas shopping. I don't know if they got me a gift or not. I'm not going to hold my breath."

Silfverberg's equalizer was scored one minute after a goal by Nick Ritchie was waved off because Corey Perry interfered with Condon. Perry atoned for his sin with a beautiful, blind backhand pass that gave Silfverberg a wide open side.

"I think Perry did a great job and realized that I was open," said Silfverberg, a former Senator who was traded to the Ducks as part of a package for Bobby Ryan. "I don't know how he saw me. It was pretty much a tap in and it was a big goal at the time and got some momentum swinging our way. Probably one of my easier ones, but it was a big one for us."

The Ducks did a good job keeping the Senators chances to a minimum in the second half of the game.

"We let them back in the game and they were pushing the pace for the last 30 minutes, and we were hanging in there, battling hard in the defensive zone and we got it to overtime," Ottawa captain Erik Karlsson said. "I think in overtime it was 50-50 but we kept it going and it was great to get the win."

The Senators made a point of mentioning they felt it important to get to the 20-win mark before Christmas.

"They deserve all the credit for how well we're doing right now," Boucher said. "We don't want to sit on it. It's good that we get a break. I think everybody has pushed so hard it's going to be very welcome.

"We want to do better. We want to keep growing. We want to make those playoffs. We can't let down. The guys know that. Since Day 1 there hasn't really been a long let down. We had a game and a half drift. The rest I think we've done really good. I've been really impressed with the dedication of the players."

The Ducks, meanwhile, were pleased with their response to a dismal effort in Montreal.

"I'm just happy with the way the guys played overall," Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "The result of the game is what it is. The last couple of games I didn't think we showed up properly to play and I thought we did tonight.

"It was a much better game tonight, we played a lot better checking and taking care the front of our net."

NOTES: Senators G Andrew Hammond will be out "week-to-week" with a high ankle sprain, coach Guy Boucher said Thursday. With G Craig Anderson away on personal leave to be with his wife Nicolle as she battles cancer, the puck stopping job is left in the hands of Mike Condon and Matt O'Connor ... Senators D Fredrik Claesson was a healthy scratch ... Ducks RW Stefan Noesen was scratched. Noes was a first round pick of the Senators in 2011 before he was sent to Anaheim in the Bobby Ryan trade. ... Ducks D Korbinian Holzer was scratched.
Top Game Performances
 
Anaheim   Ottawa
Jakob Silfverberg 1 Points Ryan Dzingel 1
Jakob Silfverberg 1 Goals Ryan Dzingel 1
Corey Perry 1 Assists Dion Phaneuf 1
Jakob Silfverberg 1 Power Play Goals Mike Hoffman 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
John Gibson .889 Save Percentage Mike Condon .960
John Gibson 16 Saves Mike Condon 24
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Anaheim 25 1 1-4 1-2 11 30
Ottawa 18 2 1-2 3-4 15 27
Upcoming Games
  • Ottawa will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Senators have a W/L % of .526 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Anaheim will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Ducks have a W/L % of .389 after a win and .588 after a loss.