Turris, Anderson lead Sens past Panthers 4-0

[January 22, 2013]  OTTAWA (AP) -- Kyle Turris scored twice and Craig Anderson made 31 saves as the Ottawa Senators shut out the Florida Panthers 4-0 in their home opener Monday night.

Anderson, making his second straight start to open the season, picked up his 20th career shutout. Jim O'Brien and Jakob Silfverberg, with his first NHL goal, also scored for the Senators.

Jose Theodore was strong in defeat for the Panthers, finishing with 33 stops.

Ottawa opened the scoring with a power-play goal midway through the first as rookie defenseman Patrick Wiercioch showed some patience before finding Turris, who beat Theodore with a quick one-timer.

Turris gave the Senators a 2-0 lead at the 12-minute mark of the second on a great pass from Guillaume Latendresse. Turris skated across center and fed the puck to Latendresse at the blue line. Latendresse then waited just long enough to find Turris right in front of Theodore's crease.

The Panthers struggled to create much of anything offensively and Anderson, who is showing no signs of post-lockout rust, easily handled what few chances they did have. The Senators goalie was at his best in the third as the Panthers outshot Ottawa 15-11.

With just over two minutes remaining, O'Brien broke through two Panthers and beat Theodore through the five-hole to put the game out of reach. Silfverberg then took a pass from Spezza to pick up his first NHL goal just over a minute later to round out the scoring.

Both teams were slow off the start, but the intensity picked up throughout the game as they fed off the energy of the sellout crowd of 19,952 at Scotiabank Place.

Monday's game marked the return of former Senators Filip Kuba and Alex Kovalev, who were booed every time they touched the puck.

NOTES: The teams meet again Thursday in Sunrise, Fla. ... G Ben Bishop, LW Kaspars Daugavins and D Mark Borowiecki were healthy scratches for the Senators. Ottawa was also without D Jared Cowen (hip, out for season) and D Mike Lundin (finger, two weeks). ... D Tyson Strachan, D Michael Caruso and C Drew Shore were healthy scratches for the Panthers. ... Florida was also without D Mike Weaver (concussion, out indefinitely), RW Kris Versteeg (hip surgery, indefinitely), D Erik Gudbranson (undisclosed), C Marcel Goc (undisclosed) and LW Sean Bergenheim (undisclosed). ... Canada's women's hockey team took in the game as they prepare for the upcoming world championships in Ottawa in April.

[Associated Press]

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