Ottawa Senators’ Chris Phillips, left, pushes Atlanta Thrashers’ Ilya Kovalchuk (17) off the puck during the second period. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand
Mike Fisher felt positively rejuvenated by the ancient Ottawa Senators flanking him.
Fisher assisted on Alex Kovalev’s first-period goal and added a power-play goal in the second, leading Ottawa to a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday night. Fisher, who scored 32 seconds into overtime Thursday night a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders, restored the Senators’ lead 3:44 into the second when he put a backhander past Ondrej Pavelec.
"I’m feeling young," said the 29-year-old Fisher, who was teamed with 36-year-old linemates Kovalev and Daniel Alfredsson. "They create so much space, they both make great plays and they’re strong on the puck. They made some great plays tonight - we could have had a few more."
Kovalev scored his first Senators goal 43 seconds in, and Jarkko Ruutu added Ottawa’s second goal 1:42 later to open up a 2-0 lead 2:25 into the game.
Chris Neil also scored, and Brian Elliott made 27 saves in his first start of the season for Ottawa (3-1).
"It feels great to get my first goal but to get the win, that’s the most important thing," said Kovalev, who has 395 career goals, including over 100 each with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh and Montreal. "When you score goals and don’t get the win, that’s frustrating."
Elsewhere in the NHL it was: Pittsburgh 5 Toronto 2; Edmonton 3 Montreal 2; Tampa Bay 5 Carolina 2; Boston 4 N.Y. Islanders 3 (SO); Anaheim 3 Philadelphia 2 (SO); Detroit 3 Washington 2; Buffalo 1 Nashville 0; New Jersey 3 Florida 2; Los Angeles 2 St. Louis 1; Chicago 4 Colorado 3 (SO); Columbus 2 Phoenix 0; and San Jose 4 Minnesota 2.
At Ottawa, the Thrashers’ Ilya Kovalchuk scored his fifth goal in three games midway through the first. Ron Hainsey scored late in the period to draw the Thrashers even at 2-2.
"I don’t think we showed up for this game," Kovalchuk said. "I don’t know whether we were ready at the start and then they capitalized on us and scored a couple of quick goals. We came back and in the second period we had a couple of chances to take the lead, but their goalie played well. That goal on the power play made the game."
Pavelec made his third straight start and stopped 30 shots.
Vyacheslav Kozlov appeared to have drawn Atlanta (2-1-0) within one midway through the third, but the goal was immediately waved off. A video review supported the referee’s ruling that Kozlov had deflected the puck with a high stick.
"We just tried to beat everybody by ourselves, but we just need to play like a unit, like we did the first two games," Kovalchuk said.
Zach Bogosian recovered from a solid bodycheck by Senators defenceman Anton Volchenkov in the second period to level Alfredsson immediately afterward with an open-ice hit of his own.
Chris Phillips drew a roughing minor at 13:27 as a number of Senators came to Alfredsson’s defence after Bogosian knocked the Ottawa captain to the ice in the neutral zone.
Penguins 5 Maple Leafs 2
At Toronto, Sidney Crosby scored two power-play goals, and Evgeni Malkin had three assists to help Pittsburgh beat the Maples Leafs.
Oilers 3 Canadiens 2
At Edmonton, Nikolai Khabibulin made 33 saves, and Mike Comrie, Jean-Francois Jacques and Patrick O’Sullivan scored for the Oilers in their win over Montreal.
Lightning 5 Hurricanes 2
At Tampa, Fla., Ryan Malone had three goals, including a go-ahead score midway through the third period, in Tampa Bay’s win over Carolina.
Bruins 4 Islanders 3 (SO)
At Boston, Blake Wheeler and Marc Savard scored in the shootout after the Bruins rallied with three goals in the final 8:01 of regulation.
Ducks 3 Flyers 2 (SO)
At Philadelphia, Teemu Selanne scored the only goal in a shootout, and had two third-period goals - the last with 16 seconds left - for Anaheim.
Red Wings 3 Capitals 2
At Detroit, Thomas Holmstrom broke a tie with a power-play goal with 6:53 left, and Ville Leino and Jason Williams also scored for the Red Wings.
Sabres 1 Predators 0
At Nashville, Tenn., Mike Grier scored with 3:25 left, and Ryan Miller made 25 saves for his first shutout of the season for Buffalo.
Devils 3 Panthers 2
At Sunrise, Fla., David Clarkson scored a power-play goal with 3:35 left, and Travis Zajac had a goal and an assist for New Jersey.
Kings 2 Blues 1
At St. Louis, Jonathan Quick made 29 saves, and Ryan Smyth and Michal Handzus scored to help Los Angeles win its third straight game.
Blackhawks 4 Avalanche 3 (SO)
At Chicago, Andrew Ladd scored on a high shot in the ninth round of the shootout to give the Blackhakws the win in their season opener over Colorado.
Blue Jackets 2 Coyotes 0
At Glendale, Ariz., Rick Nash and R.J. Umberger scored goals, and Mathieu Garon stopped 36 shots for his first shutout with Columbus.
Sharks 4 Wild 2
At San Jose, Calif., Dany Heatley scored the tiebreaking goal on a power play late in the second period as the Sharks overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Minnesota.
