Category: HOCKEY

OTTAWA, ON – A goal and an assist by Brady Tkachuk helped the Ottawa Senators get past the visiting Florida Panthers 5-2 on Monday night.

Erik Brannstrom, Alex DeBrincat, Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto also scored goals for the Senators (36-33-5), while Mads Sogaard made 32 saves for the win.

The Panthers (36-31-7), who have now lost four straight games, got two goals from Gustav Forsling and a 21-save performance from Sergei Bobrovsky.

Holding a slim 3-2 late in the game, Stutzle scored at 17:37 to give the Senators the insurance goal they would need. Shane Pinto then scored into an empty net with 90 seconds to play to ice the game.

With virtually no room for error in pursuit of a playoff position, the Senators came out swinging opening up a 2-0 lead before the end of the opening 20 minutes.

Tkachuk opened the scoring on a nice setup from Thomas Chabot nine minutes into the game. Chabot made a stutter-step move at the blue line before driving to the middle of the ice before dishing off to Tkachuk for a one-timer from the side of the goal.

Then, with just over a minute to play in the opening period, Brannstrom picked up a loose puck in front and beat Bobrovsky with a quick shot on the power play.

The Panthers got one back six minutes into the second period when Forsling beat Sogaard with a point shot, but DeBrincat restored Ottawa’s two-goal lead when he finished off a three-way passing play on the power play with less than a minute to play in the second period.

Forsling scored his second goal of the game just seconds after the Senators killed off a penalty midway through the third period.

The Senators were 3-for-4 on the power play, while the Panthers went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

OTTAWA, ON – National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman says the new owner of the Ottawa Senators will likely be announced by “early mid-summer,” and has reiterated his stand that the team will not be leaving the city.

“I have no announcement to make,” Bettman told reporters at a pre-game news conference at Canadian Tire Centre, where the Senators are taking on the Florida Panthers Monday evening.

Bettman confirmed there remain “somewhere around six” groups vying to purchase the team, but he offered no clues as to who they are, or who might be leading the pack.

“I know there’s been a lot of speculation about who the bidders are, what they’re prepared to pay — I think ignoring the speculation would be a good idea because most of it has been inaccurate,” he said, urging patience.

“We’re not on the clock. The goal is to get it right, and if it takes a little longer, it takes a little longer.”

Bettman said he expects the selection process, which is being managed by New York investment bankers Galatioto Sports Partners, to take another six weeks, and described it as “among the most vibrant processes I’ve ever seen.”

Senators staying in Ottawa

Bettman dashed any speculation that the franchise could relocate to another city, confirming any move will be to downtown Ottawa.

“If the team is going to move, the only move that will be permitted is downtown. The … Senators are not leaving Ottawa,” he told reporters.

Other details, such as the precise location of any new arena, will be up to the successful bidder and new owner of the franchise, Bettman said, though he did express some skepticism about the suitability of LeBreton Flats due to its size.

“I don’t know whether or not 6.3 or 6.9 acres is enough…. It struck me as being a little small,” Bettman said, expressing concern about space for parking, loading and other utilities.

“There are options downtown, and that’s always a good thing to have.”

He reiterated that the ultimate decision about a new arena, and what to do with Canadian Tire Centre if the team does move downtown, will be up to the new owners.

“That will all be up to the successful bidder and the new owner of the franchise,” he said.

Rampant speculation

Bettman’s visit to Ottawa comes amid rampant speculation about the team’s prospective buyers.

Actor Ryan Reynolds has reportedly teamed up with Toronto-area developers The Remington Group. Both Bettman and Daly have indicated the movie star’s involvement could be a huge boon to both the franchise and the league.

Toronto billionaire and minority Montreal Canadiens owner Michaal Andlauer has put in a bid, as have the Kimel brothers of Harlo Capital, according to both CBC sources and other news outlets.

Like Andlauer, Jeffrey Kimel is already involved in the NHL as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins management committee.

According to The Athletic, Los Angeles-based AI entrepreneur Neko Sparks is preparing a bid, and even retweeted a post by that publication about his interest in the Senators.

With the franchise expected to cost more than $800 million — and NHL brass trying to talk the price up even higher — the new owners are expected to be a consortium led by a deep-pocketed tycoon from afar that includes local minority shareholders to provide some hometown flavour.

CBC News has learned of at least three local parties involved in larger bids: the Malhotra family of Claridge Homes; Jean-Pierre Poulin of Devcore; and Jeff York of the Farm Boy grocery stores.

It’s not clear which prospective bidders the local parties are aligned with.

‘Very constructive’ meetings with mayor, NCC

Earlier on Monday, Bettman dropped by Ottawa city hall for a lunch meeting and photo op with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, before meeting with National Capital Commission (NCC) CEO Tobi Nussbaum.

Bettman described both meetings as “very constructive.” Sutcliffe joined Bettman at Monday’s pre-game news conference, though the mayor didn’t sit behind the table with the NHL commissioner.

The team is officially for sale after Eugene Melnyk died last year. Melnyk’s daughters, who currently own the team, have signed an agreement to build a new arena on LeBreton Flats, but it’s not binding.

Capital Sports and Entertainment Group (CSEG), which owns the Senators, inked a memorandum of understanding with the NCC last year to build an arena on LeBreton Flats. Their partners include Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster.

The proposal would see a major events centre, with additional mixed use development, on a 2.6-hectare site on Albert Street.

The NCC is hoping to sign a lease this fall, but there’s nothing compelling the team’s new owners to go through with the LeBreton deal.

On Monday, NCC spokesperson Valérie Dufour told CBC the meeting between Bettman and Nussbaum “was very positive, with both parties recognizing the value and opportunity for the Ottawa Senators and the National Hockey League to build a downtown arena at LeBreton Flats.”

Mixed messages about arena location

NHL executives have signalled for years that they want the Senators to move from Canadian Tire Centre to a downtown arena, but they’ve been sending mixed messages about whether that necessarily means a move to LeBreton Flats.

In February, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who joined Bettman in Ottawa on Monday, told The Bob McCown Podcast that Lebreton Flats is “certainly a relevant part of the mix,” but might not be “an essential element.”

Last week, Sutcliffe told TSN1200 that LeBreton is “not the only location” up for consideration.

During last fall’s election campaign, Sutcliffe was staunchly opposed to any direct municipal funding of a new arena, and in December told CBC he didn’t “support a cash contribution from the city of Ottawa.”

Last week, however, he appeared less certain.

“I’m not a fan of putting city money into an arena, but it depends on so many factors,” he told reporters. “I think it’s too early to have that conversation.”

OTTAWA, ON — The Ottawa Senators got a much-needed shot of confidence Thursday night.

Alex DeBrincat had two goals and an assist, Brady Tkachuk added another two goals and Ottawa routed the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-2. Over their last 10 games, the Senators had gone 3-6-1 and saw their chances at making the post-season become extremely slim.

“It’s big for us,” said Ottawa defenceman Thomas Chabot. “Obviously, we’ve felt like we’ve been playing some good hockey lately, but obviously not getting the results we wanted.

” … but it just shows that when we stick to what we do and how we play, we have a lot of success and it (showed) tonight … the way we played tonight is exactly how we need to play the rest of the way.”

Derick Brassard, Erik Brannstrom and Austin Watson added the others for Ottawa (35-32-5), while Mads Sogaard made 27 saves.

“It’s nice to get a definitive win for this group,” said DeBrincat. “I thought we played pretty good from start to finish.”

The victory marks Ottawa’s first 35-win season since the 2015-16 campaign.

Brayden Point and Mikhail Sergachev scored for Tampa Bay (42-25-6). Brian Elliott stopped 28 shots.

Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper was unimpressed with his team’s performance. Cooper had made it clear to his squad that the Senators love to play off the rush and told them specifically not to feed Ottawa’s rush.

However, he felt his team did that all night long.

“We’re having a bit of a bit of a tough stretch here, but it’s all self-inflicted,” said Cooper. “I’m just not sure when they’re going to learn, but they’re learning tough lessons.”

The Lightning are on a three-game losing streak, having been outscored 15-6 through the stretch.

“I think we’re feeling sorry for ourselves a tiny bit,” admitted Cooper. “Because they know better. That’s what makes it tough is because they know they’re making these mistakes.”

The Senators dominated play for much of the game, but Tampa Bay was still within striking distance early in the third period.

Sergachev made it a one-goal game 4:10 into the frame with a power-play marker.

But less than two minutes later, Brannstrom had a beautiful end-to-end rush culminating with a shot into the top corner to make it 4-2 for Ottawa. It was only Brannstrom’s second of the season, but the 23-year-old has shown significant improvement and poise throughout the year.

“It’s fun,” admitted Brannstrom. “I want to play offensive hockey and contribute out there so it was nice to see it go in.”

Following the game, Senators head coach D.J. Smith said he felt Brannstom was the team’s best defenceman on the night.

Things went downhill from that point on for the Lightning.

Tkachuk padded the Senators’ edge with a power-play goal at 13:11 and added an empty-net goal 24 seconds later.

Watson closed the scoring at 14:39 when he spun around and saw his shot beat Elliott.

Trailing 2-0 to start the second, the Lightning cut the deficit in half when Point beat Sogaard on a one-timer from the left faceoff circle.

Ottawa restored its two-goal lead with 1:56 remaining in the period when Brassard scored a power-play goal just as the man advantage was about to expire.

DeBrincat opened the scoring 8:53 into the first period when he took a Drake Batherson pass off the rush and beat Elliott far side.

Just under three minutes later, DeBrincat raced up the ice, spun around to maintain possession and let a shot go that went over Elliot’s shoulder and in.

OTTAWA, ON — Matt Murray’s time as a member of the Ottawa Senators didn’t go exactly as planned, but Saturday night he proved to be the difference for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 5-4 shootout win.

Murray, making his first start against his former team, made 48 saves and stood tall in a shootout that went nine rounds.

The 28-year-old Murray spent two seasons with the Senators, but only played 47 games as he dealt with injuries and a demotion to the American Hockey League before being traded last summer.

Toronto’s Alexander Kerfoot scored what would prove to be the winner in a lengthy shootout battle.

Murray admitted he didn’t even see the winner.

“You just try to hold the fort as long as you can,” he said. “By the end of it, I kept my head down when Kerfoot went in. I had my head kind of buried in my hands. I wasn’t watching, just listening.”

The game was forced into extra time after Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk scored two late third-period goals to tie the game 4-4.

Murray made a great save on Tim Stutzle in overtime to keep the game going as the Senators held the advantage in play during the extra period.

“A marathon of a game,” said Murray. “Super exciting game to be a part of. A lot of emotion out there, a lot of energy in the building. Obviously, nice to get that extra point. It was a fun one to be a part of.”

Calle Jarnkrok had a pair of goals, while Jake McCabe and Mitch Marner also scored for the Leafs (42-18-9).

With the loss, the Senators (33-31-5) are now mired in a five-game losing streak.

“Another night where I thought we deserved to win,” said Tkachuk. “Of course, anything happens in a shootout there, but (Sogaard) gave us a chance to win and it’s unfortunate but a lot of guys stepped up tonight.”

Julien Gauthier and Tim Stutzle also scored for the Senators. Mads Sogaard, making his sixth start in seven games, made 25 saves.

“I thought we played real hard,” said Senators coach D.J. Smith. “I thought for stretches we carried the play. We did make some mistakes, but I think, to a man, we came to win today and I think it just didn’t go our way.

“The guys, you can’t fault them. I mean, they’re playing as hard as they can.”

Toronto made it 4-2 midway through the final period when Auston Matthews and Jarnkrok converted a two-on-one with Jarnkrok capitalizing on a great feed by Matthews, to set a career-high with 17 goals on the season.

“He’s a great player,” said Matthews of Jarnkrok. “I mean, he’s just so sneaky good at so many things.

“So smart, gets into great spots all over the ice, not just in the offensive zone. He’s just a really easy guy to play with. Obviously, his release, it’s one of the prettiest releases I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a lot of fun watching him get the puck off.”

Despite being down a pair of goals the Senators didn’t sit back and continued to push and were able to cut the lead to one just over a minute later when Tkachuk beat Murray high stick side from in close.

With Sogaard on the bench, the Senators appeared to tie the game on an Alex DeBrincat goal, but upon video review, the goal was ruled offside.

Ottawa had a second chance when TJ Brodie took a tripping penalty with 46 seconds remaining and Tkachuk scored the equalizer with 10.1 seconds left on the clock.

“We always want to win, but in the end you always have to see the whole picture and fighting back against a team like that and two goals down, I think we did a great job to stay with it the whole time,” said Stutzle.

“We were there when we had to be and unfortunately really no luck in the shootout and (Sogaard) did a great job.”

Tied 1-1 to start the second the Senators took the lead when Stutzle scored a short-handed goal, extending his point streak to six games (4G, 7A), but 37 seconds later, on the same power play, Marner tied the game with his 26th of the season.

The Senators dominated the shot clock and were outshooting Toronto 32-11 at one point early in the second.

“I’m sure it’ll do lots for his confidence,” said Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe of Murray facing so many shots. “It was good he was busy. We’ve been talking a lot about how he hasn’t been busy enough in terms of the workload in the games he’s played of late here. … They threw a lot at him, a lot of traffic at the same time, and he handled it really well.”

Toronto took the lead midway through the period when Jarnkrok one-timed a Matthews pass from the circle.

Toronto opened the scoring with McCabe scoring his first as a Leaf when he beat Sogaard with a shot from the slot early in the period. The Senators tied the game late in the period when the puck bounced high in the air off Gauthier and past Murray.

OTTAWA, ON — Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists, Lars Eller scored a strange deciding goal and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.

Colorado defenseman Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, and Lars Eller, Valeri Nichushkin and Evan Rodrigues also scored. Nathan MacKinnon had three assists, and Jonas Johansson stopped 31 shots.

Drake Batherson, Shane Pinto, Travis Hamonic and Brady Tkachuk scored for Ottawa, Tim Stutzle had three assists and Mads Sogaard made 25 saves. The Senators have lost four in a row.

The Avalanche scored three times in the second period, including Eller’s odd goal, to take a 5-2 lead.

After Rantanen gave the Avalanche a 3-1 lead at 4:23, Pinto drew the Senators back within a goal eight minutes into the period. Rodrigues gave the Avalanche a 4-2 lead with 4:43 to go, and then the weirdness happened.

On what the Senators appeared to think was icing against the Avalanche, the puck bounced off the end boards and was in the corner of the crease by Sogaard’s pad. With Senators’ defenseman Jake Sanderson standing next to his netminder, no whistle came to end the play. After a couple of seconds, Eller skated in and jammed the puck past a confused group of Senators with 1:51 left.

After a lengthy review of a goaltender interference challenge from Senators coach DJ Smith, the goal stood.

Hamonic scored at 2:52 of the third period and Tkachuk scored on the power play at 13:18 to pull the Senators within a goal.

OTTAWA, ON — It’s an exciting time for the Ottawa Senators and their fans right now.

Following a 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night, the Senators (32-26-4) sit three points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins (31-21-9) — who lost 4-1 earlier in the evening to the Florida Panthers — for the final wild-card berth in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

Late in the third period fans at the Canadian Tire Centre started chanting “we want playoffs.” For a fan base that hasn’t had a team anywhere near contention since 2017, this is an exciting time.

“It kind of gave me chills to be honest,” said Tim Stutzle, who scored a pair of goals. “It was so loud and it was awesome. We’re playing great right now and hope to keep it going.”

It was also a warm welcome for Jakob Chychrun, who was acquired from Arizona in a Wednesday trade to help solidify Ottawa’s blue line. The 24-year-old had a goal and an assist in his home debut.

Fans were loud when Chychrun took his first shift and late in the third he was shown on the big screen and raised his arm sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“That was fun,” admitted Chychrun. “I don’t know what made me do that, just spur of the moment, but the crowd got me going so that’s what it’s all about, I think, is just having fun.

“They were really into it tonight so it was a blast out there.”

Ottawa’s blue line led the way on this night as Travis Hamonic, also scored a pair of goals, and Cam Talbot made 18 saves.

Hamonic isn’t quite known for his offensive abilities, but there was no denying his teammates happiness for his success.

“Boys had some fun with it for sure,” Hamonic said. “It’s not every night you score a couple in a game, but I think the important part is that we won.”

The Blue Jackets were coming off a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken and never seemed to be able to keep up with the Senators.

Jack Roslovic and Patrick Laine scored for Columbus (20-37-6). Elvis Merzlikins was pulled after allowing four goals on 23 shots. Michael Hutchinson stopped 17 shots in relief.

“We talked about it before the game, that they were going to come hard, and I have no clue how we were still surprised how hard they came, especially in the beginning,” said Laine.

“And they kept coming at us the whole game. We were just sleeping, just sleeping for 60 minutes.”

Ottawa is riding a five-game winning streak, its first since March 2017, and were in control from start to finish on this night.

“We did a lot of really good things,” said Senators coach D.J. Smith. “I thought five-on-five we grinded, held on to the puck a lot longer. They played last night so they weren’t as sharp, but they worked right to the end.”

The teams exchanged goals 18 seconds apart to open the scoring in the first.

Hamonic beat Merzlikins with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle, but Columbus tied it moments later when Roslovic took advantage of a turnover along the boards and fired a wrister that beat Talbot.

Ottawa took the lead on Stutzle’s 30th of the season, scoring from in close.

“It feels pretty good,” said Stutzle of hitting the milestone. “Especially in my first couple years I didn’t finish that well so it feels pretty good and right now I’m really confident in the way I play.

“But in the end the most important is to get as many wins as we can and it feels good If I can contribute to those wins.”

Ottawa extended its lead in the second to 4-2 and were outshooting Columbus 29-11.

Hamonic, playing in his 780th career game, scored his second of the night early in the second to record his first multi-goal game.

Chychrun then scored his first as a Senator taking a pass from Erik Brannstrom and fired a wrister past Merzlikins, putting an end to his night.

Hutchinson, acquired Thursday from Vegas, came in making his debut with the Blue Jackets.

Columbus managed to cut the lead in half with Laine’s power-play goal midway through the period, but there was no denying they were being outplayed.

“You knew they were coming,” said Columbus head coach Brad Larsen. “There was no secret. They’re excited to play right now. They’re in a playoff hunt.

“They’ve been playing a real good brand of hockey for a while. We were very aware of what was coming, just didn’t handle it very well.”

Stutzle scored his second of the night on a short-handed breakaway after Nick Blankenburg lost a skate blade.

OTTAWA, ON — With a 6-1 win Tuesday night, the Ottawa Senators swept their two-game series against the Detroit Red Wings — and started a new rivalry.

Tim Stutzle led the way with a goal — scored on a first-period penalty shot — and two assists. Austin Watson had a pair of goals, while Claude Giroux, Alex DeBrincat and Brady Tkachuk also scored.

Mads Sogaard picked up his fourth NHL victory stopping 16 shots.

Dominik Kubalik scored the lone goal for the Red Wings, while Ville Husso made 21 saves.

Ottawa followed its 6-2 win on Monday with another commanding performance.

The win gives the Senators (30-26-4) 64 points, tying them with Detroit (28-24-8) and keeps them in the hunt for a wild-card berth in the highly contested Eastern Conference. There are six teams, including the Senators and Red Wings, all vying for a playoff spot.

Ottawa took control of the game midway through the first and didn’t let up.

Detroit opened the scoring three minutes in when Kubalik beat Sogaard with a weak shot glove side, but it was all Senators the rest of the way.

Stutzle tied the game on a penalty shot, the first of his career, and Watson scored his first of the night short-handed beating Husso up high.

Watson scored his second of the night tapping in a Derick Brassard pass, but took a high stick from David Perron moments after cutting his nose wide open. DeBrincat scored his 20th on the ensuing power play to make it 4-1.

The Senators are the first team in NHL regular-season history to score a power-play goal, a short-handed goal, an even-strength goal and a penalty-shot goal on four separate goals in a single period.

The period also featured an unlikely duo exchanging punches, although very few were actually thrown, as Ottawa’s Artem Zub had his first NHL fight against Tyler Bertuzzi.

Ottawa made it 5-1 with a second power-play goal when Giroux got a shot through traffic from the blue line.

Tkachuk rounded out the scoring tipping a shot from Giroux.

OTTAWA, ON — Claude Giroux scored the tiebreaking goal and had three assists, Thomas Chabot had a goal and two assists and the Ottawa Senators beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 Monday night.

Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Jake Sanderson also scored to help Ottawa win its second straight after a two-game skid. Cam Talbot finished with 22 saves.

Senators coach D.J. Smith credited Tkachuk’s physical play as a key to the win.

“He came to play,” Smith said. “He’s played a lot of games, a lot of minutes against everyone’s top defenders and he’s been good the whole year, but there’s been a couple games where he’s really elevated his game and this is one of them.

“Not just with the puck, but his physicality … he was emotionally dialed right in.”

David Perron and Tyler Bertuzzi scored goals for the Red Wings, who have lost two straight after winning seven of eight. Magnus Hellberg had 36 saves.

This matchup of teams chasing a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference was a makeup for the game that was canceled on Dec. 23 due to a snowstorm. The teams meet again here on Tuesday.

Detroit remained three points behind Pittsburgh for the East’s second wild card. Buffalo is just a point behind the Penguins, and the Red Wings are in a three-way tie with Florida and Washington with 64 points.

“Everyone’s fighting for their lives,” Detroit’s Dylan Larkin said. “We have teams that we’re playing against that are battling for the same spot that we are. It did (feel like a playoff game) on the ice.”

The Red Wings know in order to have a chance Tuesday night they’ll need to stay out of the penalty box. Ottawa was 2 for 6 with the man advantage, which helped put the game out of reach.

“Too many penalties,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “That team will lose to nobody in the league if you give them six power plays.”

Perron fired a shot from the left circle on a power play for his 15th goal of the season to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 5:11 of the second.

The Red Wings then scored four goals over an 8 1/2-minute stretch to take control.

“Sometimes when the game is big you don’t let it be a big game, you just play hockey,” Giroux said. “You don’t overthink it and tonight I think we did that. … We had a game plan and we just followed it.”

Batherson tied it with Ottawa’s second power-play goal of the game on a shot from the right circle with 7:25 remaining in the middle period. It was his 19th of the season — 12th on the power play.

Giroux put the Senators ahead for good as he got a long pass from Dylan Gambrell and skated in on Hellberg on a breakaway and slid the puck through the goalie’s legs for his 24th with 5:50 left in the period.

Tkachuk took a pass from Giroux and fired it past Hellberg from the left circle for his 25th with 2:19 left in the second to make it 4-2.

“I just wanted to do whatever it takes to help the team win,” Tkachuk said. “Whether that was by emotion or physicality or making the play at the right time, but everybody did that tonight.”

Chabot beat Hellberg top shelf for his ninth to give the Senators a three goal lead 47 seconds into the third period and Stutzle got his 27th with 5 minutes left.

Bertuzzi got the Red Wings on the scoreboard first as he skated in all alone on Talbot, cut across the front of the goal and put a backhander in from the left side with 8:12 left in the first period. It was his fourth.

Sanderson tied it on the power play at 3:41 of the second as he got the return pass on a give and go from Giroux and fired a shot from center point through traffic and past Hellberg. It was his fourth.

OTTAWA, ON — Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk had three-point games to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 7-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Stutzle had two goals and an assist and extended his point streak to four games (four goals, six assists).

“I just try to play my game every night and get better every day at practice, too, and I think as a team we’re playing way better than we did,” Stutzle said. “We’re holding on to pucks making plays and it’s a lot of fun playing.”

Stutzle’s teammates are enjoying his development.

“You guys can see it, his confidence is very high right now,” Thomas Chabot said. “He’s such a talented player. Anytime he gets the puck something happens and I think we’ve all seen that since he’s been here.

“Obviously, it’s taken to another level, but I think he’s going to keep that going.”

Tkachuk extended his career-best point streak to seven games (5 goals, 6 assists) with a goal and two assists.

Shane Pinto, Alex DeBrincat, Drake Batherson and Ridley Greig also scored for Ottawa. Mads Sogaard made 30 saves.

The Senators were coming off a disappointing 4-3 overtime loss to Chicago on Friday. They also wanted to take advantage of the fact the Blues were coming off a 4-1 loss to the Avalanche on Saturday and traveled from Colorado, not to mention the trade of some key players in the past 48 hours.

“I think people on the outside made so much noise about losing to Chicago, but any team can beat any team, we’re witness to that,” Senators coach D. J. Smith said. “I think our guys knew we didn’t play the right way, they turned the page, which is a good sign because if you win a game you’re not going to be too high either and I think that’s where the leadership has gotten a lot better.”

Colton Parayko and Tyler Pitlick scored for the Blues. Thomas Greiss stopped 27 shots.

“They have to figure it out,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “You’ve got to get over what’s going on. We have veterans in there that are good players and they’ve got to take control of the team and they’ve got to understand the situation we’re in.”

Stutzle scored his second goal of the game early in the second period, beating Greiss through the pads to make it 6-0.

The Blues spoiled Sogaard’s shutout bid when Parayko got a shot off through traffic, and Pitlick scored his third of the season, tipping in Justin Faulk’s shot from the blue line two minutes later.

Greig scored his first career NHL goal with just over one minute remaining in regulation, picking up a loose puck in front.

Leading 1-0 to start the second, the Senators scored four consecutive goals and raced out to a 5-0 lead.

DeBrincat scored a one-timer on the power play to make it 2-0. Stutzle had a great move to get Greiss moving for his 25th of the season and Tkachuk made it by 4-0 tipping a shot by Claude Giroux. Batherson got in on the action, beating Greiss.

Pinto opened the scoring late in the first period, taking a pass from Batherson and scoring a one-timer for his 14th of the season.

OTTAWA, ON — The Ottawa Senators know they let two points slip away from them.

Andreas Athanasiou capped the Chicago Blackhawks’ comeback with the game-winning goal 2:52 into overtime to defeat the Senators 4-3 Friday. It was a disappointing ending to a night that started with celebrations to honour Chris Neil’s number 25 being raised to the rafters.

“We just made too many turnovers to finish off the game,” said Ottawa forward Brady Tkachuk. “It can’t happen, especially on a night like tonight where we’re honouring a Sens legend, a legend in this community.

“It stinks.”

Patrick Kane scored twice, including the game-tying marker, for Chicago (17-32-5) to send the contest to extra time. Sam Lafferty also scored for the Blackhawks, who snapped a three-game skid.

Petr Mrazek stopped 28 shots.

Tkachuk, Claude Giroux and Shane Pinto each scored for Ottawa (26-24-4), while Mads Sogaard made 28 saves. The Senators had won six of their last seven coming into the game.

“I think we’re just frustrated right now,” said Giroux. “Any time you have a 3-1 lead, you want to be a team that knows how to shut teams down.”

After entering the third period tied 1-1, the Senators put away two early goals to take control of the game.

Giroux capitalized on a pass from Alex DeBrincat, a former Blackhawk, and beat Mrazek off his backhand 2:11 into the frame. Just over two minutes later, Tkachuk padded Ottawa’s lead.

But the Blackhawks fought back. Lafferty took advantage of a puck bouncing past Thomas Chabot and broke in alone to beat Sogaard for a short-handed goal 10:49 into the period.

With 3:05 remaining, Kane scored his second of the night to tie it. The goal was Kane’s 1,217th career point, giving him the third most points among U.S.-born players.

“(I was) just kind of reading what the defenceman was doing,” said Kane. “He looked like he was kind of playing the middle, didn’t really come over at me at the start and then he slipped at the end and I thought I had a good chance to shoot and picked my corner.”

Sogaard took much of the responsibility for the loss.

“It’s pretty obvious if you give (Kane) just a little bit of room he’s going to capitalize,” he said. “You’re going to see that in this league.

“There’s great players on every team and his skill set is obviously at the top of the league, but that’s short side and that’s my responsibility and I’ve got to do a better job.”

Senators head coach D.J. Smith, meanwhile, was visibly frustrated post-game.

“We had three grade “A” looks (in overtime) … but it shouldn’t get there, that’s what it really comes down to,” he said. “It’s the NHL and if you lay off the gas just for a second that’s what happens.”

The win allowed the Blackhawks to salvage a disappointing road trip that saw them go 0-3-0 before Friday.

“Give our team a lot of credit,” said Chicago head coach Luke Richardson. “We have guts and we played hard right until the end. (Our players) really pushed to tie that game up and I’m really glad they persevered and got the win.”

The Blackhawks opened the scoring just 44 seconds into the game when Max Domi fed a wide-open Kane, who roofed it over Sogaard’s shoulder. Kane has a 12-game point streak against the Senators (nine goals, 20 assists) dating back to Dec. 2015.

Derick Brassard sent a point shot that went off Pinto to make it 1-1 7:31 into the second period.

OTTAWA, ON – Chris Neil, the most popular enforcer in Ottawa Senators history, is now forever No. 25 in the rafters at Canadian Tire Centre.

Neil, who was selected in the sixth round (No. 161) of the 1998 NHL Draft, had 250 points (112 goals, 138 assists) in 1,026 NHL games, all for the Senators.

“Playing your entire career with one team, you have a lot of great memories,” Neil said during his speech, “but this one will be forever lasting.”

Neil played with Ottawa from 2001-2017.

“Obviously, I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for my mom and dad,” Neil said, visibly emotional. “My mom is not here with us today, but I know she would be so proud. She pushed me to be the best that I could be.”

The Flesherton, Ontario, native began and ended his speech with his signature raise-the-roof arm wave, and the crowd obliged each time.

“When I would get in a fight, which happened quite a bit,” Neil said, “I would raise my hands up after the fight to get the crowd pumped up. But the real truth behind it was to let my mom know I was okay.”

Despite having 2,522 penalty minutes (20th all-time), Neil was never suspended.

“That tells you that he never crossed the line,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said. “Came close, but never crossed it.”

Dorion reminisced about the importance of Neil’s presence in Game 5 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Second Round, arguably the most memorable moment of his career.

“If I can tell one story about him,” Dorion said, “we don’t beat the New York Rangers the last time we made the playoffs if Chris Neil is not with us. He came in that series, changed the tone of the series, we beat the Rangers, and Chris had a lot to do with it.”

The Senators didn’t appreciate how New York Rangers forward Tanner Glass had treated Kyle Turris in Game 4, so Neil entered the lineup in Game 5. Glass took an interference penalty on Dion Phaneuf early in the second period, and Neil jumped in to send a message. It cost the Senators a power play, but there were zero complaints from Neil’s teammates.

“That’s the best penalty I’ve seen taken in a long time,” said Turris postgame.

The Senators won Game 5 thanks to Turris’ overtime goal, and went on to win the series.

“How many players played better because Chris played with them over that amount of time in a real tough era?” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith asked rhetorically Friday. “How many buildings did guys go into and get an extra foot or two feet because he was out there?”

You won’t find many of Neil’s teammates who disagree with that sentiment. Wade Redden, a Senators defenseman from 1996-2008, spoke with reporters Thursday.

“I look back to when he first came and joined our team and where we were as a team,” Redden said. “Where we were lacking, he brought a lot of energy and a lot of toughness, obviously.

“He was obviously cut from a different cloth than the rest of us. He brought that to every practice. Every day, he kind of had that energy on and off the ice. And he never shied away from it. He was obviously fighting. He’d take on anyone that would come his way. And he was smart about it, and did it in a way that would benefit the team in the scope of a game.”

Fittingly, Neil wrapped up the ceremony by exiting the ice the way he had done hundreds of times before, raising his arms in the air to pump up the crowd and entering the penalty box.

Neil’s jersey hangs alongside Daniel Alfredsson’s No. 11, Chris Phillips’ No. 4 and Frank Finnigan’s No. 8.

OTTAWA, ON — Tim Stutzle scored the overtime winner, but Mads Sogaard was the hero for most of the Ottawa Senators.

The Senators’ sniper scored the winner at 1:55 of overtime to lead Ottawa to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Calgary Flames Monday night, but Stutzle knew it was only possible thanks to earlier efforts by Sogaard.

With both of Ottawa’s NHL goalies sidelined by injury Sogaard has been called to action and he was solid stopping 34 shots.

Coming into the game the 22-year-old Sogaard had only three NHL games on his resume.

This marked his first win on home ice.

“It’s awesome to be here and awesome to get a win in front of our fans and you know it’s my first win here,” said Sogaard. “I lost the last time I played against Winnipeg so it was a very special moment and something I won’t forget.”

The Senators (25-24-3), who had been average much of the night, trailed 3-1 with just over two minutes remaining in regulation before they rallied to tie the game.

The Flames, who were wrapping up a four-game road trip, came out strong in the third and were rewarded when Dillon Dube was able to pick up his second goal of the night — and 15th of the season — by tipping a Tyler Toffoli shot to take a 3-1 lead, but Ottawa wasn’t quite ready to admit defeat.

With Sogaard on the bench Drake Batherson started the comeback when he was able to get a piece of a Stutzle rebound and 46 seconds later DeBrincat, off a Stutzle pass, tied the game at 3-3.

Stutzle finished the game with a goal and three assists and yet for much of it he looked frustrated.

“A lot of pucks bobbling in the slot and on the power play, too,” said Stutzle. “We had some good looks and the puck bobbled every time we wanted to shoot. … I got really mad there a couple of times, but in the end we figured it out. We did a great job staying with it and big saves by (Sogaard) in OT to keep us in the game.”

The Flames had a fairly different perspective on things.

“We had chances throughout the entire game to essentially put them away, and we didn’t,” said Toffoli. “We let them hang around. They’re a team with a lot of skill and can do what they did.”

Numerous times this season the Senators have had the extra attacker on the ice late in a game looking for the equalizer and fallen short so to score twice was a refreshing change.

“There’s four, five minutes left and you see a few people leaving and before you know it, it’s tied up,” said Batherson. “It’s awesome. We haven’t scored many six-on-five goals since I’ve been here and the place went nuts so it was great to get the win.”

The loss was frustrating for the Flames who played a solid game and likely deserved a better fate.

“I thought we dominated the game,” said Flames coach Darryl Sutter. “I thought we totally dominated puck possession. Whether it’s the next goal or the next save, I thought we were in total control of the game.”

Calgary outshot the Senators 16-6 in the second and came away with the lead.

Tied 1-1 the Flames scored seconds after their power play expired when Toffoli fired a shot to beat Sogaard glove side.

Considering his team’s play in the second period, Senators coach D.J. Smith gave Sogaard plenty of credit.

“He looked really calm,” said Smith. “I mean he’s big, obviously, pucks hit him and he made the saves he had to make. They had plenty of chances and he looked good and obviously made a couple big saves in overtime.”

Despite registering just six shots the Senators controlled play for long stretches, but couldn’t beat Jacob Markstrom.

The Senators got off to a bit of a slow start, but were first on the board when Stutzle fed Tkachuk a great pass to spring him loose for a breakaway goal at the six-minute mark.

Set in front of the net on the power play Dube was able to get a piece of Noah Hanifin’s shot and deflect it past Sogaard to make it 1-1.