Karlsson scores twice as Senators hand Leafs sixth straight loss

OTTAWA – Erik Karlsson scored twice to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 4-3 win over the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday night.

Mike Hoffman and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Senators (19-18-9) while Craig Anderson stopped 37 shots.

David Clarkson, Nazem Kadri and James van Riemsdyk scored for the Leafs (22-23-3), who head into the all-star break on a six-game losing skid. James Reimer made 22 saves and lost for just the second time in his career at Canadian Tire Centre (8-2-0).

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Toronto made things interesting for the 18,894 on hand as Kadri scored a power-play goal at 2:36 of the third period. Kadri took a pass from Morgan Rielly and beat a screened Anderson to make it 3-2.

The Leafs did their best to score the equalizer, but were unable to create any real solid scoring chances, and with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Karlsson scored his second of the night to make it 4-2.

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Milan Michalek grabbed the puck behind the net and found Karlsson just inside the blue-line and he beat Reimer glove side.

Van Riemsdyk scored at 18:37, but Toronto was unable to complete the comeback.

READ MORE: Maple Leafs’ skid hits five with loss to Hurricanes

Trailing 3-0 after 20 minutes of action, the Maple Leafs had a better second period but were only able to beat Anderson once. Clarkson, with just his second goal in 20 games, got the Leafs on the board at the 13-minute mark of the period.

The Senators nearly regained the three-goal lead late in the period, but Reimer was able to stop a 2-on-1 to keep the Leafs within reach.

Ottawa jumped out to an early 3-0 lead.

The Leafs had an opportunity to score in the opening minutes of the game as Phil Kessel had a breakaway, but shot wide of the net. Less than a minute later Mark Stone, who extended his point streak to seven games with an assist (2G, 6A), fed Hoffman at centre ice and he beat Reimer with a shot under the crossbar.

Midway through the period, Karlsson capped off a great give-and-go with and Hoffman with his 10th goal of the season.

The Senators capped the period scoring on a delayed penalty call as Bobby Ryan found Zibanejad all alone.