Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson (41) makes a save on a shot from New York Islanders forward Jason Chimera (25) during the third period at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Feb. 11, 2017.Eric Bolte
Craig Anderson made his first start in 69 days and turned aside 33 shots the as the Ottawa Senators blanked the New York Islanders 3-0 on Saturday.
Anderson left the club in early December to be with his wife Nicholle, who is battling cancer, and made his return to practice last week.
The shutout was the fourth of the season in for Anderson in just 20 and the eighth of the season for the Senators. Mike Condon has the other four.
The win is the second straight for the Senators.
Mark Stone, Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored for the Senators (29-18-6), who now have six goals in their past two games after being outscored 10-0 in their two games before that.
Thomas Greiss made 21 saves for the Islanders (24-19-10) in his eighth start in the past nine games. It was just the second regulation loss for the Islanders in their past 12 games.
Stone opened the scoring at 4:10 of the first period as he was the benefactor of his own hard work, and a little luck.
After stealing the puck from Alan Quine in the Islanders' zone, Stone fed Erik Karlsson who missed the net with his shot. Stone followed up behind the net, collected the puck and banked a shot from behind the goal line off Greiss and in.
The score remained 1-0 until 4:35 of the second period when Smith gave the Senators a 2-0 lead. Kyle Turris sent Smith in alone and he moved the puck from his backhand to his forehand to beat Greiss.
A little less than three minutes later Pageau put the Senators up 3-0 when he redirected a pass from Tom Pyatt past Greiss at 7:12.
The Islanders had two power plays in the second period and outshot the Senators 14-5 in the middle frame but they were unable to get anything past Anderson. Shot attempts in the period favoured the Islanders 31-10.
Notes: Chris Neil, Curtis Lazar and Andrew Hammond were scratches for the Senators. Cal Clutterbuck, Stephen Gionta and Scott Mayfield were the scratches for the IslandersSenators goaltender Andrew Hammond celebrated his 29th birthday on Saturday by being placed on waiversThe Islanders are 23-5-3 this season when they score at least three goals in a game. When they don't hit the three-goal mark however, they are just 1-14-7...The Senators are off until Tuesday when they host the Buffalo Sabres. The Islanders are home to the Colorado Avalanche Sunday.