Dany Heatley scores two more goals, Sens beat Pens 3-1 in Sweden
Ottawa Senators Dany Heatley, right, reacts after scoring a goal with teammate Daniel Alfredsson, of Sweden, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday Oct. 5 2008, in Stockholm. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Niklas Larsson
2008-10-05 17:50:00
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - This was hardly a routine win for Daniel Alfredsson.
Playing an NHL regular-season game in his native Sweden and skating off with his Ottawa Senators teammates after a satisfying victory could be a once-in-a-lifetime event.
"This is an experience that I'll always remember and which I'm going to rank among the highlights in my career," Alfredsson said after helping the Senators to a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
The 35-year-old Alfredsson, who says he will not return to the Swedish Elite League when he ends his NHL career, set up Dany Heatley's two power-play goals.
Heatley, who also had a goal in Ottawa's 4-3 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday, helped the Senators take three of four points during the season-opening European series.
"The way we played I think is encouraging," Alfredsson said. "Heater stepped up with two big goals today and showed the way.
"We kept them in check throughout the game. They had some chances but (goalie) Alex (Auld) played very well. So we have to be really happy with this. They're a good team. They have a lot of confidence since last year, and to be able to get three of four points here is big for us."
Alfredsson, who played on Sweden's 2006 Olympic champion team, praised his linemates.
"I've talked a lot about (Jason) Spezza and Heatley in the Swedish media when I've played with them," Alfredsson said. "Now they can see that I stand for my word and that they're two really good players. I have a lot of fun and he (Heatley) showed why."
Heatley has found a comfort zone alongside Alfredsson and Spezza, too.
"The three of us have a great chemistry," Heatley said. "In the summer when we come back to training camp it takes us a week or so. But we always seem to get our chemistry back, and this weekend we did. We have known each other for three years and it makes it a lot easier, when the three of us get together it's a very easy adjustment."
Alex Goligoski spoiled Auld's shutout bid with a power-play goal just two seconds before the final buzzer in front of another sold-out crowd of 13,699 at Globe Arena.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby set up Goligoski's goal.
Heatley gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 13:07 in the second period. Alfredsson started the play with a pass from the left circle to Spezza just beside the goal. Heatley, left unchecked on the other side, took a pass from Spezza and put the puck between goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's legs.
Heatley scored again at 12:17 of the third, when Pittsburgh was short-handed again, one-timing a slap shot past Fleury from close range. Alfredsson set up the goal with a nice pass.
"As a group it was a big weekend for us," Heatley said. "We were hungry for these two games. Even if we only got one point last night we felt we worked hard. We played well and could easily have won that game. We tried really to come on and battle as a group and we did a good job at that."
Antoine Vermette made it 3-0 with 4:10 left of the game, skating in alone and beating Fleury with a low shot.
Both goalies went the distance. Auld had 30 saves, Fleury stopped 24 shots.
In the first period, both teams played well defensively. Pittsburgh's power play continued to fizzle, failing twice. In Saturday's opener, the Penguins squandered five straight man-advantage chances in the first period.
"Specialty teams will be very important in today's NHL and we've done a really good job on our penalty killing," Alfredsson said. "Our power play stepped up."
This marked the second straight year the NHL began the season in Europe, building off games in 2007 between Los Angeles and Anaheim in London.
The NHL returned to Europe with regular-season openers in both the Swedish and Czech capitals. In Prague, the New York Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning by identical 2-1 scores to sweep that two-game series.
This was the first time in league history two teams began the regular season in Sweden, one of Europe's top ice hockey nations.
This marked the second time Pittsburgh played the first two games of the regular season on international ice. The Penguins travelled to Tokyo in 2000-01, splitting a two-game series with the Nashville Predators.
It was the fifth time the NHL began its season outside of North America, with the other three openers held in Japan in 1997, 1998 and 2000.
On Saturday, Pittsburgh will host the New Jersey Devils in its first game back in the United States, and Ottawa will welcome the Detroit Red Wings.
clouk (Posted 2008-10-07 13:03:41)
crosby has been moulded into this hockey god...that he isn't. this is a very efficient all-around player that contributes creatively as well as emotionally. where i agree with you is that he did react poorly and used personal (not team) judgement when he pouted, slahed and stick-slammed, could it not be that he is simply that intense about winning? perhaps a new level of "wanting it" we haven't seen in a while?
Hayden M (Posted 2008-10-06 17:44:23)
Hey EarlyExitOttawa, go back to kindergarten. Last time I checked, 3 forwards plus 2 defencemen plus 1 goalie equals 6 players, not 5.
As far as the game itself, I thought the sens played good hockey and they looked strong at each position. On the other hand, I found Crosby displaying poor captainship as he slashed Smith in the back of the leg after a clean, hard hit, as well as slamming his stick when he didn't get the pass he wanted on the powerplay from the young Goligoski. He looked less like the poster boy of the NHL and more like a spoiled brat who pouts when he doesnt get it his way.
clouk (Posted 2008-10-06 11:57:14)
Sens looked good on Sunday. Again, too many penalties, but they defended well against this mobile Pens offense. Smith, Kuba, Phillips, and the A-train are all looking strong. The PK is 'sick'...Hartsberg just needs to put some time aside now to work on the PP! With the same attention to pressure, the PP has alot of promise. The top line is looking dangerous. I think alot of people need to understand that Ottawa's early exit last year may just very well be part of the past for this new cast. Key issues have been dealt with, and an exciting core of players are left standing. I like Ottawa to regain some form this year and compete with the best of them.
Geocache (Posted 2008-10-06 11:18:15)
Patric said Gerber WON'T be a vezina candidate.
Steve (Posted 2008-10-06 11:15:42)
Patrick, Gerber for the Vezina? You have to be kidding me. The guy only won a Stanley Cup because of Cam Ward. You've had two years watching this guy go hot and cold, I can't believe you think he's a top goaltender. Ottawa's goaltending tandem is 3rd worst in league, above only Colarado and Los Angeles.
Geocache (Posted 2008-10-06 11:02:05)
By the way, EarlyExit, Danny ghost is going to outscore anyone on your team, Danielcheapshot is one the cleanest and classiest players in the league, and Jason Geezer threw SId the Kid around like a cat toy in Sweden. And Chris Neil will boost his goal production this season if he keeps hanging out in front of the net punching in rebounds and deflections. Besides, his role isn't scoring goals - it's hitting, agitating and enforcing. I'm afraid your too partisan and bit dim about the game.
Geocache (Posted 2008-10-06 10:42:04)
Being a Pens fan is one thing, but be real. The Pens still have a good team and will make the playoffs, but they won't go anywhere near as deep as last year. The injuries spell bad news, plus management paid too steep a price for renting Hossa. And look at what Malkin and especially Crosby have been reduced to - a frustrated couple of superstars. Unless they find some line combinations that allow Crosby and Malkin to make plays and score goals, they're just not going to go far. As for Ottawa, I think they're a shoo-in for the playoffs, but we'll see how they play against Montreal, Washington and NYR. With their blue line looking pretty strong, and the stunning 2-way play of their top players (Heatley must have thought he was Volchenkov yesterday - did you see him go down to block that shot? Looks like he's trying to show he deserves the A on his chest), the CASH line doing their job, the only question is goaltending Auld looked like a number 1 goalie yesterday, Gerber didn't is his first game. Consistency is the name of the game, though. We even got some secondary scoring.
whatsthatsmell (Posted 2008-10-06 07:58:19)
Looked to me like there was some pretty dirty checks by Pittsburgh. Hopefully they aren't gonna turn into the next Philly.
Patrick (Posted 2008-10-06 06:00:59)
Gerber will bounce back, don't worry. He won't be a Vezina Trophy candidate by the end of the year (= season), but make a very solid season. At least, I hope it'll be that way.
E Tang (Posted 2008-10-06 02:04:38)
Uh..anyways.....
I gotta admit that Ruutu seemed to make a pretty big impact out there, being a great pest. He's doing his job for sure. Smith looks great too, and I'll always love him from the Edmonton days. Boy, does Malkin ever seem to be a strange player when he gets frustrated, as the anouncers pointed out. Tyler Kennedy is looking good for the Pen's so far too. Still, the goaltending situation in Ottawa only got more messed up thanks to these two games. Gerber was awful, Auld wasn't bad. Lots of questions.
EarlyExitOttawa (Posted 2008-10-06 01:28:31)
Why in the world do you people think I'm a Leaf fan. I'm a PENS FAN, Woot! Woot! You know, the team that swept you in the playoffs last year? The team that'll sweep you again if you even make the playoffs this year! When we get healthy again its lights out for the rest of the eastern conference! Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Gonchar, Whitney & Fleuy = most talented starting lineup in the league! Ottawa's got DannyGhost, JasonTurnover, DanielCheapshot, GeezerSmith, ChrisMistheNet and HolyGerber as their top five, No competition! Its like children coming to play with the boys.
Ray (Posted 2008-10-06 00:44:41)
EarlyExitOttawa must a dumb and stupid Leafs Fan. Or just an idiot in general. If you do not have anything smart or constructive to say, do not post comments. Ottawa played a near flawless game. Jason Smith and Jarrko Ruuto were excellent picks ups. Jesse Winchester played awesome along the boards all game. Added a new dimension to Ottawa's game plan. A fantastic performance by Ottawa.
Geocache (Posted 2008-10-05 22:27:40)
EarlyExitOttawa must be from NeverMakethePLayoffsAgainToronto. Couldn't have been watching the same game the rest of us were watching. Ottawa outplayed the Pens in both games, lost yesterday because of bad goaltending and Spezza's giveaways. Tough, tough in their own end and not nearly as dead on transition I i thought they'd be - I believe that was Jason Smith with the long pass on Vermette's breakaway goal. As for calls in the Sens favour, is that a joke? The Sens were in the box something stupid like twelve or fourteen times in two games. Did EarlyExitOttawa not see Ruutu and Alfredsson get boarded behind Pitstburgh's net and the refs kept their whistles in their pockets for both?
Jackson (Posted 2008-10-05 21:55:44)
Haha, well said Greg Watson. Two teams on the decline yet both with excellent talented youngsters locked up long-term. Its amazing how short the window of opportunity is in the NHL, both teams spent years at the bottom, both rised from the ashes, had some exciting years then lost some or a lot of talent to the salary cap. Obviously the Pens still have more players to lose than Ottawa does but then Pittsburgh just blossumed. I'll be amazed if those Gaborik to Pittsburgh rumours turn out to be true, I don't understand getting rid of depth for rentals. Or even if they aren't rentals the depth you lose just by losing cap space. I'd rather have a well balanced team.
Greg Watson (Posted 2008-10-05 21:17:55)
Hossa, what do you mean by train wreck? Pittsburg or Ottawa?
Just curious. Kind of been a Pens fan these days and hoping they can pick up the pieces, again.
Marian Hossa (Posted 2008-10-05 20:02:26)
Glad I got out of that train wreck.
OttawaFan (Posted 2008-10-05 19:03:55)
The great thing about the internet I guess is that even people like EarlyExitOttawa, who obviously knows very little about hockey, are still able to voice their opinion.
Ottawa played a gritty, defensive game that frustrated the Pens, especially when penalty killing. I liked what I saw and hope the Sens can make this style of play work for them... but only time will tell.
In fairness, the Pens are missing Gonchar and that will always be a factor... and Crosby is having a difficult time finding some line mates with the right chemistry. Too much talent on the Pens team though. They will work it out soon enough.
FanInPENSingtonMD (Posted 2008-10-05 19:00:59)
Watched the game today and realized how much the Pens are going to miss Gonch. Malkin does not fit on the point...his skill is needed down low. Don't fret though Pens fans, it may have been a different outcome if Sykora had played. Overall they looked alright. Just need to jell a bit with the new blood.
Chris (Posted 2008-10-05 18:49:50)
Could someone please explain to me why the Penguins, Senators game was blacked out in my area. I live in the middle of Ohio for crying out loud. It is pathetic that I have Versus, the NHL Network, and the NHL Center Ice Package and I was unable to watch this game. I do not get FSN Pittsburgh or whatever station carries Penguins home games. I cannot figure out a reasonable explaination for this. Maybe if the NHL wants to attract an audience for its games, MAKE IT AVAILABLE!
EarlyExitOttawa (Posted 2008-10-05 18:37:58)
Lucky bounces for the Sens, otherwise outplayed. Questionable calls favouring Ottawa and Sweden's hometown boy. No worries, one win doesn't get you into the playoffs and this Sens team ain't got what it takes.
Advertisement
Should the Canadiens be retiring Patrick Roy's No. 33?
"The big thing with Carlo — and I tell him that every day — is that 'You're not in very good shape.'"
- Leafs coach Ron Wilson on the conditioning of Carlo Colaiacovo, which Wilson believes is one of the reason's the defensman is oft-injuried.
Our Partners
The Hockey News Corporation. All Rights Reserved © 2008 Transcontinental
Standards: XHTML 1.0 STRICT + CSS 2. V 1.5 17.09.2008
