Adam Gaudette and David Perron each had a goal and an assist, Shane Pinto scored the tiebreaker early in the third period, and the Ottawa Senators defeated the host Nashville Predators 5-2 on Monday night for their fifth straight win.
Jake Sanderson scored in his third consecutive game, Brady Tkachuk and Artem Zub each had two assists, and Tim Stutzle recorded his 300th career point on an assist for Ottawa, which is 10-2-1 in a run that started on Jan. 11.
With the game tied 2-2, Ottawa’s Thomas Chabot sent the puck toward the Nashville net, but it was deflected into the slot, and Pinto chipped it past Predators netminder Juuse Saros (34 saves) at 6:17 of the third.
Perron added some power-play insurance for his first of the season with 5:54 left, and moments after no penalty was called when Nashville’s Adam Wilsby was taken down on a short-handed breakaway. Ridly Greig notched an empty-netter.
Filip Forsberg scored and assisted on Jonathan Marchessault’s goal for Nashville, which has allowed 20 goals during its five-game losing streak.
Each team recorded eight shots on goal during a scoreless first period. Ottawa challenged a no-goal call due to goaltender interference with 3:33 remaining in the frame, but was not successful.
Nashville eventually opened the scoring at 3:59 of the second. Forsberg was the beneficiary of some solid passing between Roman Josi, in his club-record 957th game, and Vinnie Hinostroza, and beat Ottawa’s Anton Forsberg (25 saves). Filip Forsberg snapped a three-game point drought.
However, the Senators answered. Stutzle earned his milestone point when he drove the net with the puck, and a trailing Gaudette put in the rebound at the halfway mark of the second period.
Ottawa, which posted 22 shots on goal in the second, took the lead with 6:56 left in the middle frame. Sanderson sent a long wrister through traffic and past Saros for his ninth point in five contests.
Nashville tied it just 47 seconds into the third. On the power play, Marchessault converted a one-timer off some tic-tac-toe passing with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly.
Josh Norris, Ottawa’s second-leading goal scorer with 19, is expected to miss “a couple weeks” a mid-body injury, coach Travis Green said Monday.
–Field Level Media
