Mike Condon gets shutout in first start with Senators

OTTAWA --Goaltender Mike Condon made 27 saves and had a shutout in his debut with the Ottawa Senators in a 1-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.
Mike Hoffman scored for the Senators (7-3-0), who won their third game in a row.
With Senators goaltender Craig Anderson granted another leave of absence to be with his wife, Nicholle, who has cancer, and Andrew Hammond injured, Ottawa traded for Condon on Wednesday. He was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fifth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft and flew to Ottawa from California on Wednesday.

WATCH: All Canucks vs. Senators highlights
The Penguins acquired Condon from the Montreal Canadiens off waivers Oct. 11.
Condon, who last played Oct. 22 in relief of Marc-Andre Fleury (seven saves on seven shots), said it helped that the Senators allowed 15 shots through two periods.
"That's huge, considering I haven't played in probably three weeks (and had a) transcontinental flight," Condon said. "It gave me time to get into the groove, you could say. It was just nice to get a win."
The Canucks (4-6-1) lost their seventh in a row (0-6-1) and were shut out for the second game in a row and fourth time in their past five games. They haven't scored a goal in 142:43.

Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves for the Canucks.
"You always take an awful game and two points versus a game like this and nothing to show for it," Canucks forward Jannik Hansen said. "Our goalies are still playing tremendously for us, giving us a chance to win these games even though we don't score. It's tough to ask them to be perfect."
Condon also made 12 saves in the third. He stopped Hansen on a breakaway halfway through the third, blocked a shot from the bottom of the left wing circle by Sven Baertschi with eight minutes remaining and got his blocker on a quick shot from Hansen just outside the crease with a little more than seven minutes remaining.
Hoffman scored his second goal of the season at 14:42 of the second period after a turnover by Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson.
It was the 10th time in 11 games the Canucks allowed the first goal of the game.

Goal of the game

It was a strong individual effort by Hoffman to score the only goal. Gudbranson turned the puck over to Hoffman along the left wing boards and Markstrom came out to attempt a poke check when Hoffman cut across the slot. Hoffman avoided the check, spun around and put a shot by a sprawling Gudbranson.

Save of the game

With the Senators up 1-0 and less than eight minutes left in the third period, Hansen got behind Senators defenseman Dion Phaneuf and broke in on Condon. Phaneuf tried to swing his stick to knock the puck away but Hansen got off a shot which Condon stopped with his blocker.

Highlight of the game

With 20 seconds remaining and Markstrom on the bench for an extra skater, there was a scramble at the edge of the crease. Condon stopped shots by Hansen and Loui Eriksson in the final seconds to preserve the win.

Unsung moment of the game

The Senators killed two penalties, including a tripping penalty on forward Bobby Ryan early in the third period and have killed off 13 straight penalties over the past six games. The last power play goal they allowed was a 5-on-3 goal by the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 4-1 loss Oct. 22.

They said it

"When I got put on waivers, then when I wasn't playing in Pittsburgh, it was just a daily test of faith. I put the work in then and I knew I'd get rewarded for it." -- Ottawa Senators goaltender Mike Condon

"We have a way of making goalies look like they're all named Carey Price or something like that right now. It doesn't matter who we're playing or who's in net, they have the night of their life." -- Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen.
"You have to believe in the things that can get you there. We've talked about it. We can't change what's keeping the pucks out of our net. We just have to change once we get the pucks we've got to be better." -- Vancouver Canucks coach Willie Desjardins.
"I think our goalie coach (Pierre Groulx) did a terrific job of scouting (Condon). Everything he told us is what we saw today. A gentleman that comes in, first game, should probably be very nervous and look nervous, but it wasn't the case at all. Our goalie coach said 'you'll see, he'll be calm' and that's what he was, calm throughout the whole game." -- Ottawa Senators coach Guy Boucher

Need to know

Senators defenseman Chris Wideman did not play because of an upper-body injury. Fredrik Claesson, who was called up from Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Thursday, replaced him. … Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev, who missed three games with an injury and returned against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, did not play. Nikita Tryamkin took his place in the lineup, playing in his first game of the season.

What's next

Canucks: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, NHL.TV)
Senators: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CITY, MSG-B, NHL.TV)