Claude Giroux scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period and collected two assists as the surging Ottawa Senators beat the host New York Rangers 5-3 Thursday night.
Giroux scored his 26th goal and 11th in his past 15 games to help the Senators improve to 11-3-1 since a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 21.
Giroux’s fifth game-winning goal of the season with 16:34 remaining spoiled Patrick Kane’s debut for the Rangers. Kane was held without a point while playing on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
Giroux netted the game-winner by simply going to the net and when Travis Hamonic took a shot from the middle of the low slot, Giroux lifted his stick up for the tip-in over New York goalie Jaroslav Halak.
The deciding goal occurred 1:51 after Giroux set up Derick Brassard’s second goal of the game by getting the puck after a misplay by Halak behind the net. From the half boards by the left circle, Giroux threaded a pass to Brassard, who patiently waited and lifted a backhander into the net.
Brassard also scored Ottawa’s second goal with 9:57 remaining in the second and 21 seconds after Shane Pinto tallied. Tim Stutzle added an empty-netter as Ottawa also won its fourth straight.
Chris Kreider scored his seventh career short-handed goal 6:31 into the game while Jacob Trouba and Vladimir Tarasenko tallied in a span of 2:29 midway through the second.
Ottawa goalie Cam Talbot made 29 saves and New York’s Jaroslav Halak stopped 29 shots
The Rangers fell to 2-4-1 in their past seven games and were 0-for-4 on the power play, including a five-minute advantage when Ottawa’s Austin Watson was given a game misconduct for charging Tyler Motte with 7:11 left in the first.
After Kreider’s goal, Ottawa tied it on Pinto’s wrist shot from the high slot with 10:18 remaining in the second. The Senators took their first lead on Brassard’s deflection and held the lead until Trouba’s backhander caromed off Chabot with 7:45 left.
The Rangers regained the lead with 5:06 left in the period when Mika Zibanejad spotted Tarasenko, who cruised past Ottawa defenseman Nick Holden and slid a backhander under Talbot’s left pads.
–Field Level Media
