National Hockey League
Ottawa 2, Los Angeles 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, November 11, 2016
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Kendrick Nicholson
Linesmen: David Brisebois, Kiel Murchison
Attendance: 15622

OTTAWA -- Zack Smith hung up his baseball glove and cleats about three or four years ago.

"My teammates could attest that I wasn't very good at batting," said the Ottawa Senators winger, who played third base for the Maple Creek Mohawks in his home province of Saskatchewan. "I think I redeemed myself tonight."

Indeed, Smith swatted in his own rebound out of mid-air to score with just under four minutes to play, and winger Mark Stone banged in the winner 6.5 seconds from the final buzzer as the Senators rallied to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night.

Smith's goal, his third of the season, ended a nine game slump while Stone stopped his drought at eight games by finding a loose puck. It was his second of the season.

In 2015-16, Smith and Stone were second and third in team goal scoring.

"It was a long time coming," said Stone. "At the end of the day, we know the big guys have got to get going, so we're trying to work out of funks. We were able to get some good goals there."

Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau and defenseman Erik Karlsson each had two assists, while Senators goalie Craig Anderson made 32 saves for his seventh win of the season.

Winger Dwight King scored the goal for the Kings, who had top center Anze Kopitar for just four shifts in the third period. Kings coach Darryl Sutter would only say Kopitar "is banged up."

Los Angeles starting goalie Jeff Zatkoff "pulled himself" after two periods, with Sutter refusing to elaborate on the reason. Zatkoff stopped all 18 shots he faced before being replaced by Peter Budaj, who turned back 13 of 14 Ottawa shots.

"(Kopitar) not being in there, one of the best defensive forwards in the league, he could have obviously helped us," said Kings defenseman Drew Doughty. "But at the same time, we can't say that's why we lost the game. We have so many players who have been in the league for a long time and in situations like those. We've got to make the plays and not allow those goals to go in. That's on us."

King said Los Angeles just "got sloppy" in the third period.

"We started watching," he said. "They came out with a little more intensity. They were quicker. Their puck possession game was a lot better in the third than the first two and we kind of watched a little bit too much."

The Senators (9-5-0) have not scored more than two goals in their last eight games, a span during which they have still managed a 5-3-0 record.

"We were right there all game," said Smith. "Zatkoff made some pretty crazy saves there on us. We were getting chances, which is kind of helping us stick to it.

"I think it's important for us to know that we can stick around all game and if you have to wait until the last couple of minutes to score, so be it. I thought we were good all game."

Ottawa's power play continues to struggle, however. The Senators were 0-for-3 with the man advantage and have just four power play goal on 39 chances this season.

"The power play now, I think I'll go light some candles at church," said coach Guy Boucher. "My goodness. A great play, a perfect one timer, wide open net, my hands are up the air, and he hits their defenseman's knob. You know you're a little snake bit there."

The Kings were playing their third game in four nights but refused to use that as an excuse for the collapse.

"We weren't tired," said Doughty. "We just didn't execute our game plan. We went in there trying to get another goal in the third and try and push it on them and play in the offensive zone, and we weren't able to do that. They kind of pushed back. That's not what our team does. We don't give up the lead in the last five minutes of the game. That's been our thing for a long time.

"It's pretty frustrating right now, but we've got a game in Winnipeg coming up (on Sunday)."

The Senators also play Sunday, when the Minnesota Wild visit Canadian Tire Centre.

Once again they'll be trying to get their offence back on track.

"They seem to be hard to come by for us right now," said Smith. "We're getting chances but just not finishing. Those (goals) always help for the confidence. I think you could see how excited both me and Stoner were. That's definitely a big win."

NOTES: Senators D Chris Wideman missed his fifth game with an upper body injury, but coach Guy Boucher said he saw the doctor earlier in the day and was declared "good to go." He'll need some practice time before returning to the lineup ... Senators W Michael Blunden was scratched as Senators RW Chris Neil returned after a one game absence ... Kings D Matt Greene was scratched for the seventh time this season. Greene had played the previous six games ... Kings C Jordan Nolan was scratched. He has played in just five games this season.
Top Game Performances
 
Los Angeles   Ottawa
Dwight King 1 Points Erik Karlsson 2
Dwight King 1 Goals Zack Smith 1
Jeff Carter 1 Assists Erik Karlsson 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jeff Zatkoff 1.000 Save Percentage Craig Anderson .970
Jeff Zatkoff 18 Saves Craig Anderson 32
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Los Angeles 33 1 0-2 3-3 6 31
Ottawa 33 2 0-3 2-2 4 36
Upcoming Games
  • Ottawa will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Senators have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .833 after a loss.
  • Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Kings have a W/L % of .714 after a win and .250 after a loss.