NHL: 3 stories from Wednesday night

An unexpected start for red-hot rookie Andrew Hammond paid off for the Senators in Winnipeg, while the Canadiens fell to Anaheim in a battle of NHL elites.

Here are three stories from Wednesday night's NHL games:

Senators roll on

Andrew Hammond made his seventh straight start in the Senators' goal and once again his thievery paid off as Ottawa scored two important road points by beating the Jets 3-1 at the MTS Centre.

There was some discussion that Craig Anderson would be back in the Senators' crease in a return from his hand injury, but a game-day decision put the 27-year-old Hammond back in net. And for the sixth time since his first starting appearance on Feb. 18, the Surrey, B.C., netminder, known as the Hamburglar, flashed his leather and keyed the Sens' victory with 35 saves.

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While Hammond was keeping the Jets off the scoresheet, Ottawa's offence went to work on Winnipeg's Michael Hutchinson. Kyle Turris scored the only goal of the opening period to put Ottawa on the board, and then Bobby Ryan and Erik Condra both scored midway through the second period as the Senators took control.

Michael Frolik gave the hometown fans a bit of hope when he managed to put one past Hammond but it wasn't nearly enough.

The victory allowed Ottawa to close to within four points of the Boston Bruins for the final Eastern Conference wild card spot as they climbed past the Philadelphia Flyers, with 67 points. The Florida Panthers are just ahead with 69 points.

Byfuglien hurt

The Jets have been encamped in one of the Western Conference wild card spots for some time now, with a 6-2-2 record heading into Wednesday's tilt with the Senators to close out a four-game homestand. They were coming off a 5-2 triumph over the Los Angeles Kings, paced by a pair of goals from Andrew Ladd.

But with five other teams within a half dozen points of the Jets' 76 points through 65 games, every outing is critical. Against the Senators Wednesday, the Jets came up short in most areas of the game.

After a strong opening period when they mounted 15 shots against Hammond but came up empty, the Jets surrendered two goals in a three-minute lapse in the middle frame. The second one, which made the score 3-0, was especially harmful as defenceman Dustin Byfuglien suffered an upper-body injury while bumping with Condra, who continued on to score. Byfuglien, seemingly favouring his right arm, went to the Jets' bench and did not return.

​Canadiens bogged down in race to top

With Nashville idle Wednesday night, it was left to the Anaheim Ducks and the Montreal Canadiens to fight for the top spot in the overall NHL standings and a leg up in the Presidents' Trophy race.

Nashville had 89 points after 65 games, a figure the Canadiens could match with a win over Anaheim and still have a game in hand. Anaheim came into the game with 89 points in their first 65 games of the season.

If there was any area where the Canadiens might have an edge it would have been in goal, where Carey Price is in the midst of a dominating season, contributing 36 wins with a goals-against average less than two.

But it was Anaheim's John Gibson who came up huge, particularly against Max Pacioretty in the second period.

Gibson wound up with 37 saves as the Ducks moved into the NHL penthouse with 91 points, thanks to a 3-1 victory.

It was the Canadiens' second straight loss on their road trip after dropping a 4-0 decision in San Jose Monday.