Canadian Press
10/24/2006 10:32:50 PM
TORONTO (CP) - The Ottawa Senators have remembered how to score.
After managing a meagre 1.8 goals a game in losing four of their first six, the Senators throttled the New Jersey Devils 8-1 Saturday and toppled the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 Tuesday night.
Mike Fisher, Andrej Meszaros, Patrick Eaves, Antoine Vermette, Dany Heatley and Chris Neil scored in Ottawa's latest win.
Matt Stajan and Mats Sundin replied for the Leafs.
The teams meet again Thursday night in Ottawa and Sens fans won't be blowing kisses at Darcy Tucker for beating up Eaves, who suffered a serious concussion in a college game four years ago and wears a visor. There might be more than boos headed Tucker's way.
Fisher finished off a 2-on-1 rush with Tom Preissing to open the scoring at 2:42. Tomas Kaberle had been caught up ice.
Meszaros connected with a blue-line blast through a screen at 14:47. The play developed after Ian White failed in an attempt to shoot the puck out of the Leafs' zone.
Eaves scored on a power play at 19:46. Dany Heatley sent the puck towards the crease where Eaves and Hal Gill were jousting. Eaves gained possession, whirled around and slid the puck past goaltender Andrew Raycroft. Ben Ondrus was off for roughing.
Vermette scored on another power play at 3:21 of the second period. Fisher sent a cross-ice pass that Vermette, being ineffectively checked by Bryan McCabe, reached for to redirect in. Tucker was off for roughing. He'd pushed Joe Corvo into the end boards from behind.
Ottawa entered the game last in the 30-team league in power play efficiency (5.4 per cent) with only two goals in 37 chances.
Heatley made it 5-0 four minutes later. Prancing around the front of the crease, he was treated by would-be Leafs checkers as if he had a contagious disease. Jason Spezza popped the puck out front from the side, and Heatley backhanded it past the beleaguered Raycroft.
Leafs fans in the announced crowd of 19,485 finally had something to cheer about when Stajan tapped a rebound into an open Ottawa net at 8:10. Goaltender Martin Gerber was out of position after flopping to the ice.
Tucker then pummelled Eaves, who didn't want to fight. Tucker insisted, and sent Eaves tumbling to the ice after repeatedly throwing fists at his head.
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