OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators have started playing a more complete game under interim coach Jacques Martin and are reaping the rewards.
The Senators (25-27-3) overcame a two-goal deficit and rebounded from a late goal to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 thanks to Tim Stutzle’s shootout winner Saturday night.
“I think maybe in the past, if we got down early, obviously we still worked, but I think now we’ve come back in a few games and we believe that we can come back,” said Drake Batherson, who scored his 18th of the season for the Senators.
“It’s not easy against a team like that. You look at their defence is really a veteran ‘D’ core. So, give the boys credit for working hard.”
Josh Norris and Thomas Chabot also scored for the Senators. Anton Forsberg, getting his third start in four games, made 26 saves in an impressive outing.
Norris and Chabot have combined to score five of the Senators last seven goals.
“He’s played well,” said Martin of his goaltender. “I think early in the game, he wasn’t as sharp, but as the game went on, he played with a lot of confidence and poise and made some big saves for us. And in the shootout he was perfect.”
Chandler Stephenson scored twice for the Knights (32-19-7) and Jonathan Marchessault added a single. Logan Thompson stopped 30 shots.
The Knights, playing the first game of their five-game eastern road swing, have now lost their last three games, but took some comfort in picking up a point.
Vegas trailed 3-2 with just under two minutes remaining, but were able to force the game to overtime after Stephenson scored his second of the night at 18:45 with Thompson on the bench.
There was some relief to finally be rewarded after pulling the goalie.
“That’s been a problem for us all year,” said Knights coach Bruce Cassidy. “So, we changed up a bit of our structure on it and found the open guy and got it to the net.
"Part of our problem with that is we haven’t been executing that play to get it to the net down low, so that was good. Obviously, helps us get a point but at the end of the day I felt we played well enough to get two.”
The game was tied 2-2 to start the third, but Ottawa took its first lead when Norris, with his third goal in two games, tipped a Chabot point shot at 5:48.
“Just our play away from the puck is probably the biggest thing,” said Norris. “It’s something that we talk a lot about in video. Just playing consistent games and knowing how we have to play every night. So, like I said the other night, I know it’s a lot of boring answers, but it’s something that we’ve really drilled into our brains. It’s just complete hockey.”
Vegas opened the scoring at 5:41 of the first when William Karlsson stripped Stutzle of the puck along the side boards deep in Ottawa’s end and fed Marchessault, who beat Forsberg off his backhand for his 30th of the season.
Marchessault is the first player in Vegas franchise history to have two 30-goal seasons, the last coming in 2021-22.
Vegas took a 2-0 lead just three minutes into the second on Stephenson’s power-play goal from the left faceoff circle and seemed to be well in control.
“I think it’s something to build off for a long road trip here,” said Stephenson. “Obviously, would have been nice to secure that two-goal lead we had here, but credit to them for their push and for us to get one late to get a point out of it. Shootouts can go either way.”
Chabot cut the lead to one with a wrist shot from the high slot at the nine-minute mark.
Chabot has goals in each of his last three games.
Ottawa tied the game with a power-play goal when Brady Tkachuk fed Batherson in the slot with under two minutes remaining in the second. Norris was key breaking up the Knights clearing attempt seconds earlier.
NOTES
Artem Zub did not play for the Senators. Ben Hutton, Daniil Miromanov and Jakub Demek were healthy scratches for the Knights.
UP NEXT
Senators: Head to Washington to take on the Capitals on Monday.
Golden Knights: Travel to Toronto to play the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2024.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press
