The Ottawa Senators scored three times in the third period in a 5-2 win over the host Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Austin Watson tipped a Travis Hamonic point shot through traffic at the front of the net to give Ottawa a 3-2 lead at 4:31 of the final frame, and Drake Batherson made it 4-2 at 5:18 from the high slot.
Julien Gauthier pushed it to 5-2 on a two-on-one at 11:57.
Mads Sogaard made 30 saves for the Senators, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Mike Matheson and Nick Suzuki scored for the Canadiens, who lost all four meetings against Ottawa this season. Sam Montembeault made 17 saves.
The Senators started slowly, struggling to generate anything early. They didn’t register their first shot on goal until the six-minute mark of the first period.
But the visitors were the first to break through, when Derick Brassard tipped in defenseman Nick Holden’s point shot at 15:12 to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead on its fourth shot on goal.
Matheson tied it 1-1 at 4:29 of the second period. The defenseman took a pass from partner Justin Barron and skated up the right side for a shot from above the circle. Sogaard made the stop but couldn’t control the puck. Matheson, still in stride at the net, lifted the rebound into the top of the net.
Suzuki put Montreal ahead 2-1 at 8:46, shortly after a strong penalty kill by the home side. Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic intercepted an Ottawa pass in the Canadiens’ end to spring Suzuki on a breakaway, and the Canadiens captain slid the puck past the left pad of Sogaard.
Shane Pinto tied it 2-2 at 13:51. After Montembeault stuck his stick and blocker out at the side of the net to deny Alex DeBrincat driving in, DeBrincat picked up the loose puck behind the net and fed Pinto alone in front.
–Field Level Media
