The Senators improved to 3-1 in the preseason with a 3-1 home win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Claude Giroux's slick breakaway goal in the second period stood up as the game-winner Friday night as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-1.
On paper, it was a preseason game that probably went exactly the way it should. Quite simply, Ottawa dressed a large number of their top players and Winnipeg did not. But the undermanned Jets gave them all they could handle and, if not for some big saves by Kevin Mandolese, who came off the bench in a scheduled sub for Leevi Merilainen, the result might have been different. The Sens were outshot on the night 35-34.
After a scoreless first, Winnipeg grabbed a brief 1-0 lead on a goal by Jansen Harkins. From a coverage standpoint on the Harkins goal, the Sens looked like a dance troupe that had forgotten the routine.
But 29 seconds later, Roby Jarventie erased the glitch, scoring on a light backhander from a terrible angle on Jets goalie Laurent Brossoit.
It looked like things might stay that way into the second intermission until Harkins got involved again, putting an ill-advised cross-ice pass right onto Giroux's stick, turning him loose on a mini-breakaway. Giroux took advantage, tucking a gorgeous backhander just under the bar.
To some degree, the first three goals could probably be blamed on the rust of the long offseason. And the officiating crew wasn't immune to the effects of rust either, pulling Jakob Chychrun's third goal of the preseason off the board, ruling (erroneously) that it was set up by an intentional hand pass from Jiri Smejkal.
Smejkal continues to impress and will be a hard man to send to Belleville and not slot immediately into Ottawa's bottom six. He skates well, he's physical and has some puck skill.
Vladimir Tarasenko finished off the Jets with an empty net goal in the dying moments. Tim Stutzle could easily have potted the winner himself but chose the role of welcome wagon, setting up the new "kid" in town.
With Ottawa's top five defencemen all playing, we got a sneak preview of what the ice time might look like this season when everyone is healthy. Everyone fell well short of 30 minutes. No one even came that close to 25 minutes.
Angus Crookshank's path to the NHL lies in playing an aggravating style but he may have overdone it with a high hit on Elias Salomonsson who left the game and did not return. After the hit, it seemed like the entire population of Manitoba got a chance to get a crosscheck in on Crookshank.
With the victory, the Senators improved to 3-1 in the preseason. Their next game is Sunday as they host the Eastern champion Florida Panthers in Sydney, Nova Scotia.