Good Things Come in Threes, Although Sometimes Only Once a Year: Ottawa 5; Philadelphia 2.

The Senators have their first legitimate winning streak of the season under their belts, even if it is only a modest one. The Sens looked surprisingly energetic after killing 13 penalties last night in Buffalo, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 5-2 for their third straight victory.

Dany Heatley scored in this one, and therefore played tremendously. Actually, Heatley had only three shots on goal, and the goal he was credited with took a luck bounce of Scott Hartnell. Nevertheless, I thought the pizza line played well in this one. Jason Spezza’s feed to set up Heatley’s shot on Ottawa’s fourth goal was a little piece of genius. He showed patience with the puck, passing it around a Flyers defender, timing it so that it wedged its way perfectly into Heatley’s wheelhouse. The staff in the Wachovia Centre gave the ensuing goal to Daniel Alfredsson, but I get the feeling that Heatley will be given credit.

Spezza also chipped in a goal of his own for the second straight night. Spezza’s marker was nearly identical to the one he registered last night, minus his falling ass-backwards.

Brian Elliott was solid again. Elliott’s glove hand is starting to impress me. After watching Ray Emery and Martin Gerber, who, for their NHL-ish skill sets, both had terrible glove hands. Elliott made a very flashy save during the second period on Jeff Carter’s wrister that was headed top corner on Elliott’s far side.

The Sens got more of that elusive secondary scoring tonight. Hot hand Nick Foligno scored his ninth, and third in his past four games, on a befuddling error from Antero Niitymaki. Niitymaki over-committed blocker-side, allowing Foligno to waltz in and pot the Sens’ third goal.

Antoine Vermette treated us to a taste of what he used to bring to the table more regularly, scoring the team’s final goal on a fast-break. Vermette has struggled to produce those kinds of goals this year, which I credit to the Sens’ lack of puck-movers. Vermette receives less tape to tape passes in stride, which negates his biggest asset: speed.

There was not a whole lot of excitement in this one until the latter half of the third period. Both teams were fairly reserved and the game was not one you would describe as run and gun or particularly intense. Ottawa’s high goal total can be attributed to the poor play of Niitymaki.

The team has tomorrow off, before playing the Wild in Minnesota Saturday night. Look for a more challenging foe for the Senators’ scorers, as Nicklas Backstrom is quietly solidifying his reputation as one of the league’s elite puck stoppers as he heads towards unrestricted free agency this summer. Check back here for a live stream, as this one won’t be televised.