Brady Tkachuk scored the game-winning goal with 1:18 remaining in regulation and Tim Stutzle matched a career high with four points as the visiting Ottawa Senators earned a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
Corralling the puck ahead of the blue line, Stutzle stormed into the Montreal zone, then got the puck to Tkachuk, who sent it low and past Jake Allen (24 saves). Stutzle posted two goals to go with his two assists, Tkachuk also recorded an assist and Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat also scored for the Senators, who enter the All-Star break on a four-game winning streak.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard had two goals and Mike Hoffman posted a goal with an assist for Montreal, which was much more competitive three days after falling 5-0 at Ottawa. Nonetheless, the Canadiens have dropped four straight overall and five in a row to Ottawa.
Down 3-2, Montreal tied it when Josh Anderson sent the puck to Nick Suzuki, who found Harvey-Pinard with 8:58 left in regulation. Both Anderson and Suzuki recorded assists.
The Senators, though, regained the lead just over a minute later on Stutzle’s power-play strike by a screened Allen.
Harvey-Pinard scored again, however, this time from up close to tie it with 5:44 remaining in regulation. The Quebec native has five goals in seven games this season.
Ottawa scored just 2:57 into the game when Nikita Zaitsev’s drive was deflected in by Giroux for his 20th goal — the 10th time in his 16-year career he hit that mark. Just 52 seconds later, Stutzle took a spin pass from Mathieu Joseph (two assists) to beat Allen.
Montreal came through with 6:40 remaining in the opening frame. Amid a scramble in front of Montreal’s Anton Forsberg (28 saves), Kirby Dach converted the Canadiens’ second power-play score in the last seven games.
The Senators regained the two-goal edge with a power-play goal of their own with 3:37 remaining in the second. A Thomas Chabot shot fake turned into a dish to Stutzle, who served a cross-slot pass for DeBrincat to bury. It was one of three assists for Chabot.
Montreal scored its second power-play goal of the game, off the stick of Hoffman, with five seconds left in the second to make it 3-2.
–Field Level Media
