The Ottawa Senators prevailed over the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in a shootout victory that also marks the 600th NHL win for Ottawa coach Bryan Murray. Dany Heatley started off the scoring with the lone goal in the first period. The second followed in the same vein with Mike Fisher knocking in a wrist shot, assisted by Daniel Alfredsson & Chris Phillips. The Oilers came back strongly in the third period and scored three goals – two by Petr Sykora and one by Tom Gilbert. Oiler Ales Hemsky had two assists. Captain Alfredsson also scored and the game was headed for over time. No one could break the tie in OT so on to the shootout. Former Oilers Dean McAmmond & Mike Comrie scored in the SO to give the victory to the Sens. Murray reached his personal milestone in 1,199 games. He earned his first win on Nov. 18, 1981, with Washington and holds the distinction of being the longest-serving coach without a Stanley Cup.
Song for the day – “Back To Me” – KATHLEEN EDWARDS
The round of 16 in the Champions League started last nite with a loss for my team. Arsenal lost away at Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven 1-0 on an Edison Mendez goal. They face a nervous return leg in a fortnight but are also being optimistic since it is a very slender margin. However their domestic rivals, Manchester United, won 1-0 away to Lille, in a match that saw Sir Alex Ferguson vent out his ire at the Lille players. Ryan Giggs scored from a free kick, which was taken before the Lille goalie could arrange his wall. The players reacted against the controversial goal and almost walked off. Fergie says that he has never seen such a display in all his career. Real Madrid made life somewhat easier for their under-pressure manager Fabio Capello, by seeing off Bayern Munich 3-2. Raul scored two and Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored the other. Lucio had earlier scored for Bayern and in the final two minutes before time, Van Bommel also scored to lower the scoreline for Munich. The slender lead that Madrid will take with them to Germany in two weeks will be boosted by the form of David Beckham, who was included in the lineup for the first time in a month. In other games, Gordon Strachan’s Celtic drew 0-0 at home with Italian side AC Milan. This leaves the Milan club with all the odds in their favour.