Saturday, Jan. 20 7:00pm ET
Senators strong before road trip
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BOX SCORE
OTTAWA (AP) -- Alexei Yashin is showing the offensive skills the
Ottawa Senators missed last season.
Yashin scored twice and rookie Jani Hurme made 18 saves for his
second NHL shutout as the Ottawa Senators beat the struggling Tampa
Bay Lightning 3-0 on Saturday night.
|  | | Rookie goalie Jani Hurme made 18 saves for his second career shutout for the Senators. |
Yashin, who sat out last season in a contract dispute, has 12
goals and 10 assists in his last 15 games.
"I shoot when I have an opportunity and my line (with Shawn
McEachern and Andreas Dackell) is creating some chances," Yashin
said. "That's what we have to do. There are a lot of games left,
so we have to keep our focus."
Rob Zamuner also scored for Eastern Conference-leading Ottawa,
which improved its home record to 16-5-3-1 and remained undefeated
when leading after two periods (21-0-4-0).
Ottawa has only lost two of its last nine games, and completed a
three-game homestand before starting a six-game road swing.
"We're getting some wins, and it's a great feeling," Yashin
said.
Tampa Bay has lost nine of its last 10, and six of seven under
new coach John Tortorella.
"The only things that worked for us was our penalty-killing and
goaltending," Tortorella said. "(Goalie) Dan Cloutier was
fantastic. He gave us a chance to be at least involved in the game.
Give Ottawa some credit. They are one of the best teams in the
neutral zone."
Ottawa extended its home winning streak to seven against Tampa
Bay, and has outscored the Lightning 17-3 in three meetings this
season.
On Saturday night, the Senators outshot the Lightning 13-6 in
the first 20 minutes but couldn't beat Cloutier in the period.
Hurme got his first start for Ottawa since Dec. 30.
Lightning right wing Wayne Primeau was taken to hospital with a
concussion after a fight in the third period with Ottawa's Wade
Redden. Primeau received an instigator minor, fighting major,
10-minute misconduct, match penalty and game misconduct.
"I think (Primeau) was pretty frustrated," Redden said. "I
hit him and looked away, and that's when he came at me."
Primeau kicked a glove on the ice, kicked the wall behind the
player's bench and took down some sticks on his way to the dressing
room. A Lightning spokesman said Primeau would undergo a CT scan
and remain in hospital overnight.
Yashin opened the scoring when he flipped a rebound over
Cloutier.
Former Tampa Bay forward Zamuner and Yashin struck 1:13 apart
early in the final period. Zamuner's backhand was his 14th goal of
the season and Yashin added his 20th.
Game notes
Ottawa outshot Tampa Bay 42-18. ... Senators captain Daniel
Alfredsson was awarded a penalty shot when he was hauled down by
Lightning defenseman Pavel Kubina 8:37 into the second period.
Cloutier turned aside Alfredsson's backhand attempt and was strong
throughout.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
Ottawa Clubhouse
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New Jersey 3
Atlanta 2
Los Angeles 6
Carolina 3
Colorado 2
San Jose 1
NY Rangers 2
Montreal 2
Ottawa 3
Tampa Bay 0
Philadelphia 5
Florida 3
Toronto 2
Buffalo 0
St. Louis 3
Vancouver 0
Edmonton 2
Detroit 1
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