After scoring two goals or fewer in each of their previous four games, the Senators’ offence finally erupted on Wednesday night. Brady Tkachuk had a four-point night and scored his 200th career goal as the Senators defeated the New York Rangers 8–4 at Madison Square Garden.
The win was Ottawa’s second in as many nights and marked the first time all season the Senators have hit the eight-goal mark in a game. Ridly Greig chipped in with three assists, and Leevi Meriläinen made 18 saves in his ninth straight start.
It looked like it was going to be another night for the 23-year-old goaltender to improve his statistics. However, with Ottawa nursing a 6–1 lead, the Rangers scored three times in the third period, and suddenly, allowing four goals on 22 shots didn’t look quite so flattering.
The Senators came out hard, grabbing a 4–0 lead after 20 minutes on goals from Drake Batherson, Nick Jensen, Brady Tkachuk, and Dylan Cozens. Rangers fans responded by booing their club off the ice at intermission. The home side then gave up two more goals in the second period to make it 6–0, thanks to tallies from Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot. That ended the night for Rangers veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick, who allowed six goals on 17 shots.
Gabe Perreault scored twice, once late in the second period and again early in the third, to cut Ottawa’s lead to four. David Perron made it 7–2, scoring from a sharp angle. Noah Laba and Alexis Lafrenière got the Rangers to within three before Tim Stützle put it away with an empty-net goal. The goal was Stützle’s 20th of the season, marking the fourth time in the last five seasons he has reached that milestone.
The Rangers continue to struggle at home. The loss was their 17th in 22 games at Madison Square Garden, dropping their home record to 5-13-4 and leaving them in last place in the Eastern Conference.
The Senators still have a long way to go to climb back into playoff relevance in the East. They stand five points (and six teams) behind the second wild card spot. They'll look to make it three straight wins when they host the Montreal Canadiens (and a lot of their fan base) on Saturday at 7:00 pm, then they'll play in Detroit against the Red Wings on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
Those will be big divisional games, but based on the position the Senators have put themselves in, they're all big games now.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa
This story is from The Hockey News Ottawa. You can visit the site here or click on one of their latest articles below:
Former Senators Head Coach Comes Out Of Retirement To Take Over Bench In Columbus
Ottawa Senators Officially Sign James Reimer To One-Way NHL Contract
Senators Handled Social Media Controversy The Best Way They Could
Why The Senators' Biggest Rival Right Now Might Be Social Media
Staios Condemns 'Fabricated And False Stories' Circulating On Social Media