Ottawa Senators head coach Paul MacLean, back, directs his team during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
October 23, 2013 - 7:18 PM
DETROIT - Jason Spezza has Daniel Alfredsson's old job, and for one night he stole his spotlight.
Alfredsson was playing his first game for the Detroit Red Wings against his former team, but Ottawa's new captain spoiled the reunion with two goals in a 6-1 Senators victory Wednesday night at Joe Louis Arena.
Spezza, who was tasked with following Alfredsson's 14 seasons of wearing the "C," scored on the power play in the first period and then at even strength in the second. Defencemen Eric Gryba and Jared Cowan and winger Bobby Ryan — acquired on the same day Alfredsson signed in Detroit — scored the Senators' other goals.
Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard was chased after the Senators (4-3-2) scored three goals on eight shots. Two of them came on the power play and one went through Detroit defenceman Brian Lashoff's legs, but Jonas Gustavsson still got the call.
Gustavsson slowed Ottawa but couldn't prevent a third straight loss for the Red Wings (6-4-1), whose only goal came from Todd Bertuzzi.
Alfredsson was not much of a factor, finishing with two shots in 16 minutes 12 seconds of ice time. Coach Mike Babcock started him with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, then Alfredsson settled into his usual role on Detroit's second line.
Meanwhile, the Senators put on an offensive display, led by Spezza.
Mika Zibanejad, playing his first game of the season after his demotion to the minors, set up Gryba for the first goal 5:46 into the first period. Gryba managed to be wide open on the edge of the right faceoff circle, and Zibanejad rewarded the organization for bringing him up.
"We just want to see Mika just come out and play," coach Paul MacLean said after the team's morning skate. "What he does, he's a big guy that skates, play with a lot of speed and power."
At six foot three, Spezza is a big player, too. But his goals were a result of sharp precision.
With the Senators on a power play midway through the first, Spezza had plenty of passing options but opted to fire the puck through traffic. Detroit's Lashoff and Brendan Smith and Ottawa's Colin Greening were between Spezza and Howard, and the shot went through Lashoff's legs and into the net.
Ryan, one of a few Senators players without a personal connection to Alfredsson, continued his hot start with his fifth goal of the season by roofing a shot that ended Howard's night 14:14 into the first.
Alfredsson's biggest impact came on a point-to-point pass on the power play that led to Bertuzzi's goal. Niklas Kronwall, playing his first game since Oct. 17 when he left the ice on a stretcher following a hit from the Colorado Avalanche's Cody McLeod, took the puck from Alfredsson and got it down low, where Zetterberg fed it to Bertuzzi to bring the less-than-capacity crowd alive.
That goal was Craig Anderson's only blemish as he put on the better performance of the two potential U.S. Olympic goaltenders. With U.S. scout and Pittsburgh Penguins assistant general manager Don Waddell in attendance, Anderson made 31 saves on 32 shots.
While Anderson was quietly strong, Spezza provided some dazzle on his second goal. He shot the puck off the glass behind Gustavsson and managed to corral it just in time to put it low glove side 5:12 into the second.
Cowen scored Senators' fifth goal just 1:50 into the third. His shot from the outside went off Red Wings forward Joakim Andersson's stick and fluttered in.
Ryan poured it on with Ottawa's sixth goal of the night. Clarke MacArthur took a shot that bounced off Gustavsson's pad and to a wide-open Ryan, then tripped over Kyle Quincey and slammed into the boards.
Ryan didn't celebrate his sixth goal of the season as he was waving for a trainer to help MacArthur. The former Toronto Maple Leafs winger returned for his next shift.
Alfredsson got on the score sheet by tripping Zibanejad 10:57 into the third period, but as fans left Joe Louis Arena en masse the Senators were unable to take advantage.
NOTES — Patrick Wiercioch was a healthy scratch on defence for the Senators, as Joe Corvo played his fourth game of the season. ... Kronwall was considered questionable to play after taking a puck to the face during Detroit's morning skate. The Red Wings called up defenceman Xavier Ouellet as a precaution, but he was made a healthy scratch.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013