Senators work OT to win fourth straight
SENATORS 5, DEVILS 4 (OT)
The Ottawa Senators let the New Jersey Devils up off the mat Tuesday night.
Then they delivered the knockout punch in the nick of time.
Drake Batherson scored his second goal of the game at 3:16 of overtime to lift the Senators to a 5-4 win over the Devils in front of 13,101 at Canadian Tire Centre. Batherson's first career overtime winner also allowed Ottawa to run its winning streak to four games for the first time this season.
The game winner came in spectacular fashion as Batherson did a toe drag and then fired it home for his 17th of the season.
Captain Brady Tkachuk did his part with three assists, while Tim Stuetzle scored twice. Thomas Chabot also chipped in a goal, while netminder Anton Forsberg faced 40-plus shots for the 11th time this season
“I had a couple of good scoring chances early and I just felt like the puck was coming to me,” said Batherson. “I just felt good tonight. I think our whole line did and our legs were there all night.
“We were creating all night and it was great to get the win, especially four in a row.”
Coach D.J. Smith wasn't thrilled with his team's defensive play in their previous outing against the Montreal Canadiens, but he wasn't about to complain about the 6-4 win on Saturday either. The Senators had no issue scoring, but they had to do a better job defending.
“It was a wild one,” said coach D.J. Smith. “Both teams gave up a lot of chances and I just thought we gave up too many odd-man rushes in the third period. It was a late-season game and you've got teams that are looking to get to the end and not checking as hard as they usually would.
“That's what happens, you end up in a 5-4 game.”
The Senators went back to Forsberg in this one. He'll play two of their last three games and was coming off 44-save performance against the Habs. He came into this game with a team-leading 20 wins in 42 starts with a .917 save-percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average.
This was his 19th start in the Senators' last 23 games.
Devils forward Yegor Sharangovich erased the Senators' two-goal, third-period lead when he beat Forsberg five-hole at 10:15 to tie it up 4-4.
Stuetzle scored on a beautiful a short-handed effort on a breakaway 6:34 into third to give the Senators a 4-2 lead. The Devils refused to go away as Pavel Zacha struck 55 seconds later and Ottawa led 4-3.
The Senators looked like they were in control in this one, but the Devils struck with 5.2 seconds left on the clock to cut Ottawa's lead to 3-2 after 40 minutes.
Nolan Foote's second of the game gave the Devils some life and made this one interesting heading into the final frame.
Stuetzle's 21st of the season restored a two-goal lead with 3:19 left in the second. He scored the Senators' second of the night with the man advantage by picking up a rebound and beating Mackenzie Blackwood stick side.
After striking late in the first, the Senators got the second period started off on the right note. Tkachuk, on his knees behind the net, threw the puck out front to Batherson, and he moved the puck to his forehand and beat Blackwood glove side.
That was a nice way for Batherson to celebrate his 24th birthday on Wednesday and came only 11 seconds into the period to give Ottawa a 2-0 lead.
“It was nice to score right off the bat and get some momentum,” Batherson told TSN after the second period.
A perfect three-way passing play set Chabot up for his seventh of the season with only 16.9 seconds left in the frame. He was parked on the doorstep and redirected a pass from Tkachuk past Blackwood on the stick side.
It was Chabot's first power-play goal of the season and only the third of his career, but the timing was perfect.