Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter VI Mobile College Basketball March Mayhem Picks College Basketball March Mayhem Picks VegasInsider.com VegasInsider.com
Handicapper Bios Sports Picks Free Odds Contests Sportsbook
Sports Betting Home NFL NBANHLMLBNCAA FBNCAA BKGolfAutoHorsesBoxingVI More Sports
 
NHL Scores Matchups Teams Standings Schedules Injuries News
 
 · Latest News
 · Player Updates
 · Transactions
Buy Picks Vegas Odds
 
 · Vegas Odds
 · Offshore Odds
 · Future Odds
 
Recap: Predators , Senators
Date: February 09, 2012 7:30 PM EDT
  

OTTAWA (AP) - Chris Phillips rarely displays his offensive skills - except in milestone games.

Phillips scored his first two goals of the season in his 1,000th NHL game, Jason Spezza also scored twice and the Ottawa Senators ended a seven-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

Advertisement

The veteran defenseman, one month shy of his 34th birthday, scored his first goal in 75 games 7:50 into the second. He lay on his back on the ice after adding a power-play goal 13:35 into the third to put Ottawa up by two.

``It took him a thousand games to figure out he's an offensive defenseman,' said Spezza, who also assisted on Phillips' first goal.

It was Phillips' fourth two-goal game - his first since Nov. 19, 2009, in a 6-2 win over Pittsburgh. That was his 800th career game.

Phillips has spent his entire career with the Senators, who drafted him first overall in 1996. His No. 4 was painted on the ice behind both goals and he was given standing ovations during a video tribute in the first period and after both goals.

``What can you say? It's just an unbelievable night to begin with and it just kept getting better and better,' Phillips said.

Mike Fisher played his first game at Scotiabank Place since he was traded to Nashville last Feb. 10. He was also given a standing ovation when video highlights from his Senators career were shown during the first period.

``It brought back a lot of good memories,' said Fisher, whose wife - singer Carrie Underwood - was on hand for the game. ``It was a neat moment for me, for sure. It was definitely emotional and I had a lot of good memories and great times in this building. The fans have been great and it was definitely a fun moment for me.'

Alex Auld made 24 saves for Ottawa, which went 13-2-2 prior to its recent skid.

``It's tough to stop losing streaks and we did that tonight,' Spezza said. ``When you're winning games it seems like it's easy to win them, and when you're losing games it seems like you keep finding a way to lose. So to dig ourselves out of that hole tonight, hopefully we can springboard it and have a good one on Saturday (against Edmonton).'

Martin Erat scored to draw the Predators within one with 8.6 seconds remaining.

Pekka Rinne stopped 25 shots, and Gabriel Bourque and Patric Hornqvist also scored for Nashville, which has lost three of four (1-2-1).

``We didn't play well at all,' Fisher said. ``Give Ottawa credit, they had a good game. Other than the loss, it was a special night for sure, and to see Phillips have a game like that, I was happy for him.'

Spezza gave Ottawa its third one-goal lead at 3-2 with his second of the game - his 22nd of the season - on a power play 18:55 into the second.

His 21st goal 4:46 into the game put Ottawa up 1-0. The All-Star center punched the glass behind the Predators' net after firing a wrist shot past Rinne for his first goal in nine games.

``I've definitely been frustrated,' Spezza said. ``Our line hasn't been producing as much as we should be and we really talked about trying to get the first goal and trying to get the lead, and it was important for our line to have a good game. So I think I was just kind of letting out a bit of anger at not scoring in the previous games and it felt good to get the first one.'

Bourque drew Nashville even with his second goal at 18:46.

Phillips got another ovation after he beat Rinne from the slot to put the Senators up 2-1. It was his first goal since last Feb. 26.

``Everything turned out great tonight,' Phillips said. ``A hard-fought game against a top team and we played the way that we have to play, night in and night out, so just a great game for our team to be able to feed off of.'

Hornqvist tied it with a power-play goal at 12:40 when he tipped Ryan Suter's point shot past Auld.

NOTES: Predators RW Brian McGrattan did not dress. The former Ottawa enforcer missed his second straight game because of an upper-body injury. ... Senators G Craig Anderson didn't play for the first time in 23 games. He was pulled early in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to St. Louis after allowing two goals on four shots in his 18th straight start.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2013
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

 BETTING TRENDS
 Team  ML   PUC   O/U 
 NAS  43%   96%   29% 
 OTT  57%   4%   71% 
BT MOVEMENTS

 
 
  
GOLD Membership
Over 150 Member Plays free each month. Signup Today!
 
 

NFL
NFL Sports Picks
NFL Vegas Odds
NFL Online Odds
NFL Matchups
NFL Scores

More Sports
Golf
Auto Racing
Horse Racing
Boxing
WNBA

MLB
MLB Sports Picks
MLB Vegas Odds
MLB Online Odds
MLB Matchups
MLB Scores

Features
Free Odds
Contests
Newsletters
VI Radio
Las Vegas Travel
Follow us on Twitter
Add us on Google+
Join us on Facebook

NBA
NBA Sports Picks
NBA Vegas Odds
NBA Online Odds
NBA Matchups
NBA Scores

Sports Betting Tools
Live Odds
Mobile Odds
Parlay Calculator
Gaming Terms
TV Listings
Handicapping Records
Sports Betting
About Sports Betting
Sportsbook Reviews

NHL
NHL Sports Picks
NHL Vegas Odds
NHL Online Odds
NHL Matchups
NHL Scores

VegasInsider Info
About Us
Help Center
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Refund Policy
Contact Us
User Feedback

College Football
NCAA FB Sports Picks
NCAA FB Vegas Odds
NCAA FB Online Odds
NCAA FB Matchups
NCAA FB Scores

Sportsbooks
CarbonSports · Review
SportBet · Review
Sportsbook · Review
TopBet.eu · Review

College Basketball
NCAA BK Sports Picks
NCAA BK Vegas Odds
NCAA BK Online Odds
NCAA BK Matchups
NCAA BK Scores

Rotation Schedules
Baseball: Mar 31 - June 02

Copyright © 1997-2013, VegasInsider.com Inc., The Global Leader In Sports Gaming Information. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, please contact us at 1-800-211-4759.