What a difference a day makes.
Just 24 hours after being pummeled by the Chicago Blackhawks, the Ottawa Senators travelled to Toronto on Wednesday night and claimed a 4-3 win against the Maple Leafs on the back of a strong showing by goaltender Craig Anderson.
For the second night in a row, Anderson was under siege as the Senators were outshot by Toronto 48-32. Unlike in Ottawa's 8-2 loss to the Blackhawks, in which he was pulled midway through the game, Anderson stood tall against the Leafs and frustrated the home team enough to allow for the Senators to earn a much-needed victory.
Ottawa jumped to a 2-0 second-period lead with goals by Thomas Chabot and Mike Hoffman, but tallies by Andreas Borgman and James van Riemsdyk evened things up with plenty of hockey left to play. Toronto, buoyed by the comeback, seemed to have all the momentum and poured shot after shot on Anderson but could not solve the 36-year-old netminder before Gabriel Dumont gave Ottawa the lead at 2:15 of the third period.
Toronto responded through Morgan Reilly midway through the period, but the overly aggressive Maple Leafs were caught flat-footed on a turnover and Senators' forward Tom Pyatt finished a 3-on-1 for the game's final goal.
From that point onward it was Anderson's turn to shine again, as Toronto pulled its goaltender for the final few minutes and besieged the Ottawa net. Anderson stood tall to thwart Toronto and end the first half of a tough Senators season on a high note.
Ottawa (15-18-9) now heads into a seven-day break, with its next meeting coming Jan. 18 against the St. Louis Blues. Toronto (25-17-3) embarks on its own, shorter, bye week before also facing the Blues Jan. 16.