Canadiens 4, Senators 3 (OT)
The Ottawa Senators let one slip away against an ach-rival.
Alex Newhook skated in alone on overtime after a terrible giveaway by Drake Batherson as the Senators lost 4-3 in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night at the Bell Centre.
Tim Stutzle’s sixth goal of the season was a beauty as he went upstairs with a backhand shot to give the Senators a 3-2 lead with 6:33 remaining in the third period, but Ivan Demidov tied it up for the Canadiens by beating goaltender Linus Ullmark with a low shot with 2:11 remaining.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Senators battled back with goals from Michael Amadio and Batherson to tie it up through the second. Ullmark gave his club a chance to win.
“That was a hell of a hockey game,” said coach Travis Green. “You hate to lose in overtime, but that’s part of it. I liked a lot of our game tonight.”
The Habs are leading the Atlantic Division of the National Hockey League, which means every point matters, and this was another instalment of a rivalry that is only getting better.
AFTER FURTHER REVIEW
A lengthy review with 10.6 seconds left in the second period allowed the Senators to tie it 2-2.
Initially, the goal by Amadio was waved off, with the referees ruling there was interference by Claude Giroux on Montreal goalie Samuel Montembeault.
Senators head coach Travis Green took a timeout and challenged that ruling, which was a key move because the National Hockey League’s situation room ruled it a goal.
“The actions of Giroux didn’t impair Montembeault’s ability to play his position,” the league said in its decision.
Lane Hutson was stopped on a penalty shot by Ullmark with 2:36 left in the second period, foiling a bid to extend the Habs’ lead to 3-1. Hutson was awarded the shot after he was taken down by Stutzle on a breakaway.
Batherson pulled the Senators within a goal by picking up a bad clearing attempt and beating Montembeault with a shot from a sharp angle at 11:53 of the second period. That came moments after Zachary Bolduc missed the net completely on a breakaway and failed to make it 3-0 for the Habs.
“I don’t think we had a bad game,” said Stutzle. “I thought we fought back and played a really solid game.”
The Senators have had their share of issues with the Habs, going 1-3-0 against them last season, and they can’t afford to let that trend continue this season.
Canadiens right-winger Brendan Gallagher (11) battles with Senators defensemen Tyler Kleven and Nikolas Matinpalo (33) at the edge of the crease guarded by netminder Linus Ulllmark on Saturday night.
BAD BLOOD BUILDING
Many wondered if Ottawa winger Nick Cousins would face retribution for a slash on Demidov during a pre-season contest. The Habs made noise that they hadn’t forgotten.
In the third period, Cousins fought Jayden Struble. It was a size mismatch, and Cousins went to the room after taking a punch.
This was a physical battle.
Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson had to pull himself off the Montreal bench after taking a huge hit from Bolduc, while the Senators’ Tyler Kleven caught Alexandre Carrier with a thunderous check along the boards.
That forced Kleven to fight Joe Veleno.
“The fight by Kleven fired up everybody,” Sanderson said.
Earlier, Ottawa winger Kurtis MacDermid wanted to go toe-to-toe with Montreal defenceman Arber Xhekaj, but Xhekaj wasn’t a willing participant.
Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson (85) gets a snide look from Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky as he climbs out of the Montreal bench after taking a big hit during Saturday’s game.
STICKING WITH LINUS
Ullmark started for the 11th time in 13 games this season. That’s not because he’s held a hot hand; it has a lot to do with trying to get him back to the form he had last season because we haven’t seen it enough.
His numbers are better, but not close to what they have to be. Ullmark has a 5-4-1 record with a 3.36 goals-against average and a .862 save percentage. He’s fortunate that Ottawa is the second-highest scoring team in the league.
Ullmark surrendered two goals on five shots to start the game. He couldn’t do much on a power-play effort by Juraj Slafkovsky at 9:25 of the first period, giving the Habs a 2-0 lead, but the first one by Cole Caufield wasn’t pretty.
Caufield slid the puck through Ullmark’s five-hole to open the scoring at 7:05. That was the 11th time in 13 games the Senators had allowed the first goal, which is as bad as it sounds.
“It’s tough going down 2-0 in their barn, but we weathered the storm and we had a great pushback.” said Sanderson. “We’ll take the point for sure.
“We’ve got to clean up the start of the game to set ourselves up for the rest of the game.”
The Senators sent backup Leevi Merilainen to their American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville so he could face the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday night.
Ottawa wanted to get Merilainen a game because it doesn’t play again until it faces the Boston Bruins on Thursday. Hunter Shepard was brought up from Belleville to dress as backup.
bgarrioch@postmedia.com
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