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  Wednesday, Jan. 12 10:30pm ET
Hot Prospal scores winner for Sens
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Any problems Vaclav Prospal has had off the ice have not affected his play.

Ron Tugnutt
Ottawa goaltender Ron Tugnutt snares the puck as teammate Jason York comes in to help and Anaheim's Mike Leclerc, left, attempts to bat the puck.

Prospal scored the go-ahead goal with 8:31 left as the Ottawa Senators extended their road-unbeaten streak to five games Wednesday night with a 2-0 victory over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

The Ottawa center, who has five goals and seven assists in his last 10 games, was reprimanded by the league for directing a derogatory slur for French-Canadian players toward Montreal's Patrice Brisebois on Dec. 29.

"I think what we've found out about Vinnie is that he's a guy who plays better when he has a chip on his shoulder," Senators goalie Ron Tugnutt said after earning his 15th career shutout. "That seems to bring the best out of him."

Tugnutt and Guy Hebert, who shared goalie duties in Anaheim during the Ducks' inaugural season of 1993-94, were in a scoreless battle until Prospal got a pass from Daniel Alfredsson and beat Hebert with a slap shot from the middle of the left circle for his 10th goal.

"Shawn McEachern intercepted the puck in the neutral zone, he slid it to Alfie and he slipped between two guys," Prospal said. "They kind of went to him and that left me open. Alfie put it on my stick and I had some time to take the shot."

Marian Hossa, on his 21st birthday, added an empty-net goal with a minute to play.

It was the seventh time this season that the Senators scored fewer than three goals and won.

"Everyone knows the Ottawa Senators are not the kind of team that is going to play a run-and-gun offense on the road," Prospal said. "We knew they had a good goalie and a great first line, so we just had to shut that line down and score some goals ourselves."

Tugnutt, who earned the first-ever Ducks victory, stopped 32 shots for his fourth shutout this season. Hebert made 23 saves for Anaheim, winless in its last seven games (0-5-2).

"We did a lot of good things as a team, and that's why it was frustrating that we couldn't score," Teemu Selanne said. "It's all about confidence. We're going through a tough time right now, but we just have to stick together and stay positive."

Ottawa goalies have recorded five shutouts, one fewer than last season.

Anaheim's power play, which has gone from first in the league last season to last this season, went 0-for-3 and is 1-for-33 in eight games.

About three minutes into the game, Anaheim's Ted Donato found Paul Kariya all alone about 15 feet in front of the net with a pass from the left boards, but Kariya fanned on the shot.

Kariya had a short-handed chance early in the third, but Tugnutt got his blocking pad on a rising slap shot from the top of the left circle to deny him.

Tugnutt's closest call came with 2½ minutes left in the second when he stopped Selanne twice from the edge of the crease.

Selanne came close again with 12½ minutes left, when his rising slap shot from 50 feet out between the circles glanced off Tugnutt's mask.

"You've got to give those guys a lot of credit because they play smart," Selanne said. "It doesn't matter if it's 0-0 or 3-0, they still play the same system. And that's what makes them so good."
 


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Ottawa's Prospal escapes suspension for ethnic slur


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