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Bench Warmer
Dany Heatley scored his second goal of the game 2:57 into overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
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Just hours before the season opener for both teams, Heatley agreed to a new 6-year, $45 million deal with the Senators.
Heatley, who had tied the game late in the third period, buried a wrist shot from the middle of Toronto's zone between the legs of goaltender Andrew Raycroft.
Antoine Vermette and Daniel Alfredsson also scored for the Senators in John Paddock's his first game as head coach.
Nik Antropov, who coach Paul Maurice put on the first line, scored twice for the Maple Leafs, while Matt Stajan had the other goal.
Heatley has haunted the Maple Leafs throughout his career. In 25 career games against them, he has 22 goals and 19 assists.
Ottawa has won all four times it has provided the opposition for the Maple Leafs' season opener at Air Canada Centre.
Music from the bagpipes and drums of the 48th Highlanders filled the arena as has been the case at every home opener since Maple Leaf Gardens opened on Nov. 12, 1931.
Vermette opened the scoring at 7:23 with a wrist shot from the circle to the right of Raycroft that went into the far lower corner of the net.
Antropov tied it at 10:39 when his pass to the crease from the side boards deep in Ottawa's end struck Chris Phillips' skate and ricocheted past goaltender Martin Gerber.
Antropov scored again at 13:59. He was unchecked in front of Gerber when Mats Sundin slid him the puck from behind the net and he put it between Gerber's legs.
Alfredsson made it 2-2 at 14:39 when his wrist shot from the top of the circle to the left of Raycroft found the far lower corner of the net.
Raycroft stopped Chris Kelly on a breakaway early in the second period and he came up big during a two-man Ottawa advantage that lasted 65 seconds.
Stajan put Toronto up 3-2 at 15:44 of the second when he slapped a bullet past Gerber from the middle of Ottawa's zone.
Just when it seemed the Maple Leafs might be able to run out the clock, Heatley struck. Andrej Meszaros fed him a cross-ice pass and he buried his shot in the open side of the net at 14:24 to tie it 3-3.
Notes@: Neither team scored on the power play, Ottawa was 0-for-4, Toronto 0-for-7. ... Sundin had two assists to move within five points of Darryl Sittler's club-record 916. ... NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance. ... Joe Bowen, who has broadcast play-by-play of Maple Leafs games for 25 years, was honored in a pregame ceremony.
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Just hours before the season opener for both teams, Heatley agreed to a new 6-year, $45 million deal with the Senators.
Heatley, who had tied the game late in the third period, buried a wrist shot from the middle of Toronto's zone between the legs of goaltender Andrew Raycroft.
Antoine Vermette and Daniel Alfredsson also scored for the Senators in John Paddock's his first game as head coach.
Nik Antropov, who coach Paul Maurice put on the first line, scored twice for the Maple Leafs, while Matt Stajan had the other goal.
Heatley has haunted the Maple Leafs throughout his career. In 25 career games against them, he has 22 goals and 19 assists.
Ottawa has won all four times it has provided the opposition for the Maple Leafs' season opener at Air Canada Centre.
Music from the bagpipes and drums of the 48th Highlanders filled the arena as has been the case at every home opener since Maple Leaf Gardens opened on Nov. 12, 1931.
Vermette opened the scoring at 7:23 with a wrist shot from the circle to the right of Raycroft that went into the far lower corner of the net.
Antropov tied it at 10:39 when his pass to the crease from the side boards deep in Ottawa's end struck Chris Phillips' skate and ricocheted past goaltender Martin Gerber.
Antropov scored again at 13:59. He was unchecked in front of Gerber when Mats Sundin slid him the puck from behind the net and he put it between Gerber's legs.
Alfredsson made it 2-2 at 14:39 when his wrist shot from the top of the circle to the left of Raycroft found the far lower corner of the net.
Raycroft stopped Chris Kelly on a breakaway early in the second period and he came up big during a two-man Ottawa advantage that lasted 65 seconds.
Stajan put Toronto up 3-2 at 15:44 of the second when he slapped a bullet past Gerber from the middle of Ottawa's zone.
Just when it seemed the Maple Leafs might be able to run out the clock, Heatley struck. Andrej Meszaros fed him a cross-ice pass and he buried his shot in the open side of the net at 14:24 to tie it 3-3.
Notes@: Neither team scored on the power play, Ottawa was 0-for-4, Toronto 0-for-7. ... Sundin had two assists to move within five points of Darryl Sittler's club-record 916. ... NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was in attendance. ... Joe Bowen, who has broadcast play-by-play of Maple Leafs games for 25 years, was honored in a pregame ceremony.
