Music: {allcanada} Hammond leads surging Senators past Jets

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

{allcanada} Hammond leads surging Senators past Jets

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WINNIPEG -- The Ottawa Senators continued their late-season push toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre on Wednesday.

In the second game of a back-to-back set, Senators goaltender Andrew Hammond made 35 saves in his seventh consecutive start. Ottawa has won eight of its past 11 games (8-1-2).

Ottawa coach Dave Cameron made a surprise announcement earlier Wednesday that Hammond was to start in place of Craig Anderson, who had been announced as the starter earlier in the week; however, a lingering hand injury that has prevented Anderson from playing since Jan. 21 changed the plan.

In stepped Hammond, who led the Senators (28-23-11) to a 4-0-1 road trip against Western Conference opponents. The win moved the Senators within four points of the idle Boston Bruins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

The loss left Winnipeg (32-21-12) stranded one point ahead of the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card in the West. Minnesota has two games in hand on the Jets.

Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien left the game in the second period because of an upper-body injury and did not return.

Kyle Turris scored his 16th goal to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead early in the first period. Bobby Ryan's 17th goal and Erik Condra's seventh ended Winnipeg goaltender Michael Hutchinson's night with 8:06 left in the second period.

Michael Frolik had a third-period goal for Winnipeg.

Hutchinson made 14 saves in his fifth consecutive start. Hutchinson was 5-0-3 in his previous eight games and lost in regulation for the first time since Feb. 2 at the Calgary Flames.

Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec took over for Hutchinson in his first game since Feb. 19 and finished with three saves.

Ottawa scored on its second shot of the game when Cody Ceci's pass reached Turris at the blue line before Turris put a high wrist shot from the left circle past Hutchinson at 4:59. Turris has six goals in his past 10 games.

The Ottawa power play pushed the lead to 2-0 when Ryan snuck into the slot and one-timed Karlsson's pass from behind the Winnipeg net 9:07 into the second period.

Condra's one-timer from the low slot 2:47 after Ryan's goal made it 3-0.

Frolik's 14th goal off a cross-crease pass 5:46 into the third period trimmed Ottawa's lead to 3-1.

Winnipeg begins a four-game road trip against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

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