(injury)." Signing a seven-year, $36.75 million

OTTAWA -- Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators made a statement heading into the holiday break. Anderson stopped 27 shots for his second shutout of the season as Ottawa defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-0 on Monday. "We definitely had one of our better games this year and we played our most consistent game, playing hard-nosed and in their face," Anderson said. "We know they have a good team and they bring it every night and they do things right 99 per cent of the time so we found a way to win the game and do it with conviction." Senators head coach Paul MacLean was pleased with the timing of the emphatic victory. "Its the best way we possibly could (head into the break)," said MacLean. "If we were looking for something under the tree that could be a motivator for us and a feel-good thing for us, beating Pittsburgh 5-0 we can head into this three-day break with a positive attitude." The game was relatively close after two periods but the Senators dominated the Penguins in the third, outshooting them 15-9 while getting goals from Erik Karlsson, Kyle Turris and Cory Conacher. Zack Smith and Bobby Ryan also scored for the Senators (15-17-7) and Anderson earned the 24th shutout of his career. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for the Penguins (27-22-1), but saw his personal five-game winning streak come to an end. The win ended a three-game losing streak for the Senators with all three of those losses coming in Ottawa since they beat the St. Louis Blues last Monday, also at the Canadian Tire Centre. "I thought our response to the game tonight was workman like and our penalty killers did yeomen work and the difference in the game was that we obviously killed off those power plays," said MacLean after his team survived all seven short-handed situations, while scoring once in three power-play opportunities themselves. The Penguins had won 12 of their last 13 games in Ottawa, including seven in a row. Pittsburgh had only been shut out once this season as they fell 1-0 at home to the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 21. The shutout was the first for the Senators since they blanked the Buffalo Sabres 1-0 in their first game of the season. Defenceman Marc Methot set an early tone that it was going to be a physical night. With the Penguins breaking towards the Ottawa goal, Methot took Sidney Crosby out with a hard hip check. Crosby wasnt hurt on the play but his spinning body was catapulted into Pascal Dupuis who went down and hit hard into the end boards. Dupuis left the game with what was later described as a lower body injury and did not return. Crosby was mostly ineffective the rest of the game and his immediate reaction after the game was not a good one. "I havent seen the replay. I dont know how low it was. He almost blew my knee out so it was pretty low," Crosby said. "I dont know if it was right above my knee or above my hip, but it was awfully close." Methot politely disagreed. "I have a ton of respect for that player," said Methot. "I think hes one of the best players in the world and you have to play him hard and that was our goal." The two players had a lengthy discussion before play resumed while Dupuis was attended to behind the net. "He wasnt happy about it and I wouldnt be happy either so I dont blame him for coming at me a bit," said Methot. "I thought it was a clean hit. Ive been throwing hip checks my whole career and Im six-foot three and I dont think I can get much lower than his knees." Smith opened the scoring at 6:54 of the first period when he put a backhand in a very small opening between Fleurys left skate and the post after the Penguins netminder made a pad save on Cody Ceci. Anderson held Pittsburgh at bay and stopped two Penguins on breakaways in the second period, including one shorthanded by Brandon Sutter. The other was a glove save off James Neal. In between those breakaways, Ryan scored his first goal in four games when he directed a point shot from Chris Phillips past Fleury at 5:56. It came on the same power play that the Senators surrendered on Sutters breakaway. "A big part of the game was when they get the power play goal to go up 2-0 and we have several chances on the power play," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "We had several good opportunities to score but we dont cash in and certainly the game turns on that stretch where we had three power plays in the second and we dont get a goal." The Penguins head into the break leading the eastern Conference while the Senators are in 10th place four points out of a playoff spot. Notes- Patrick Wiercioch, Joe Corvo and Mika Zibanejad were scratches for the Senators Monday and for the Penguins, Deryk Engelland, Brian Gibbons and Evgeni Malkin were scratchesaOttawa is now 7-1-3 this season when leading a game after two periodaSenators defenceman Chris Phillips snapped a 10-game pointless streak with a second-period assistaSidney Crosby at least one point in 31 of Pittsburghs 39 games this seasonaMarc-Andre Fleury has played 499 career games, all with the PenguinsaPenguins forward Chris Cooner turned 30 on Monday. Custom Miami Marlins Jerseys . With the Canadiens leading by one to start the third period, Price turned away 16 shots by the Panthers in the final frame to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday night. The Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame, but were repeatedly frustrated by Price, who made 26 saves on the night. Miami Marlins Store .com) - Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson lost an appeal to have his indefinite suspension overturned, the NFL announced Friday. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/ . And thats about it. After the Salukis 73-65 loss at Murray State on Tuesday night, Hinson called his players "uncoachable," "a bunch of mamas boys" and compared the disciplining of his young team to housebreaking a puppy. Miami Marlins Pro Shop . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Wholesale Marlins Jerseys . Johnson shared an update after his surgery Tuesday on Twitter. He also wrote, "now lets get on the grind." The running back told The Tennessean he was having surgery in Pensacola, Fla.TORONTO - As many of his teammates departed for warm, sunny destinations over the Olympic break, David Clarkson decided to spend the majority of his time at home in Toronto, working to get himself in a position to finish what otherwise has been a forgettable season on the right foot. "Just at home with my daughter dressing up as a princess and bossing me around but I was home with the family, went away quickly, but was mainly just home with my wife and daughter," said Clarkson. Having already missed 21 of 60 games this season being in and out of the lineup due to two suspensions and two different injuries (foot and elbow), additional time off was the last thing Clarkson felt he needed. "I think Ive had enough of a break this year," he laughed, "but Im ready to go here to finish this season the right way." Instead of time off, Clarkson dedicated himself to a workout schedule in an effort to sustain the improvement in his play in the week leading up to the Olympic break. "Especially with the year, the way its gone for me, when you go through a tough time, sometimes youve got to dig deep and find a way to get back to work and try to stay healthy." So far, Clarksons off-ice work over the break has paid off, at least in the eyes of his head coach. "He worked out and maintained a high level of conditioning and its shown here during this mini camp," Randy Carlyle praised, singling Clarkson out after putting his team through another high tempo practice with a heavy emphasis on battle drills designed to ensure the team hits the ground running when they resume their schedule on Thursday night against the New York Islanders. Reunited with Nazem Kadri and Joffrey Lupul on a line in the second last game before the Olympic break in Tampa Bay, Carlyle was impressed with the trios performance against the Lightning and the following game against the Vancouver Canucks. The three had played together most recently for a couple of games at the end of November before various injuries and suspensions kept them apart.dddddddddddd "We think the combination of Kadri, Lupul and Clarkson have been a real strong force for us over the last little while and theres no reason to change that," said Carlyle. "We think they should be challenging the Bozak, Kessel and van Riemsdyk lines for minutes, offensive minutes." Likely more of a challenge than an expectation given the tear that the JVR-Bozak-Kessel unit was on heading into the break, an element of consistent production from that group would be welcomed to take some of the onus off the top line. Clarkson seems to be pleased with the chemistry developing among his linemates so far. "I think playing with those two, we made a lot of good plays," he said. "We were in the other teams zone, we were doing a lot and I think it was the healthiest Ive felt since coming back off the elbow (injury)." Signing a seven-year, $36.75 million deal to play in his hometown last summer, the expectations were high, probably too high to legitimately expect them to be met. At that price, production is expected in the range of 20 to 30 goals and 55-65 points. But Clarkson is not a player who will consistently reach those targets. He knows the criticism has been abundant. "In sports, I think you have to blank some stuff out whether its what people are saying or whats going on," said Clarkson. "As a player you go through ups and downs and its how you come out of it and how you handle it. You work hard through those times to get stronger and better." Finally healthy, a strong performance down the stretch could go a long way in helping to silence some of his critics and erase the disappointment of the first three quarters of the season. It promises to be tough, hard sprint to the finish and its type of hockey Clarkson wouldnt want any other way. "This is playoff hockey," he said, "the rest of the season is what its all about." ' ' '