Claude Giroux was one of three Ottawa skaters to end lengthy scoring droughts as his third-period game-winner propelled the host Senators to a 3-1 victory Sunday over the Utah Hockey Club.
Giroux scored for the first time since Dec. 29, ending a 13-game drought, and the 37-year-old added an assist. Ridly Greig ended a goalless streak that started on Jan. 3, and Brady Tkachuk broke through with an insurance goal after going pointless in 10 straight games.
Tim Stutzle added two assists, and Leevi Merilainen made a season-high 34 saves as the Senators won their second straight and tied the Boston Bruins for third in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand.
Clayton Keller’s team-leading 18th goal came unconventionally for Utah, but it was not enough to avoid a second consecutive loss. Karel Vejmelka finished with 24 saves.
The Senators jumped ahead with their fifth short-handed goal of the season. Artem Zub took possession of a bad pass into Ottawa’s defensive zone and connected with Shane Pinto. He started a 2-on-1 with Greig, who registered his seventh goal and second on the penalty kill this season with 7:44 left in the second.
Utah took advantage of a break to level the score just 96 seconds later. As a slashing penalty on Josh Norris ended, Keller skated down the right sideboard and attempted a centering pass to Logan Cooley. Instead, the puck hit off Giroux and Greig and past an unsuspecting Merilainen to give Keller a seven-game point streak.
The game remained tied until 12:27 was left in the third. Stutzle entered Utah’s defensive zone and attracted three skaters. That left Giroux open on the right side, and he beat Vejmelka for his 10th goal of the season and the 1,098th point in his career. Jake Sanderson also earned an assist.
Tkachuk added his team-leading 19th goal with 6:38 left, with Stutzle and Giroux assisting.
Norris returned to the Senators’ lineup on Sunday, one game ahead of the team’s initial timeline after he suffered an upper-body injury early in Tuesday’s loss to the New York Rangers.
Sunday ended a stretch of back-to-back games over the past three weekends for Ottawa, who won all six of those games.
–Field Level Media
