It didn’t take three minutes for Brendan Gallagher to announce his attendance after eight matches. Taking advantage of the presence of Mike Hoffman on goalkeeper Anton Forsberg, Gallagher took the opportunity to push the ball into a deserted net and thus scored his first goal exactly in one month.
Senators competed, but to no avail, as it was defender Artem Zop who pushed Hoffmann into his goalkeeper.
Inadvertently responsible for that goal, Hoffman couldn’t celebrate his 600th NHL game with a point against his former team, because the only assist in the play went to Jake Evans.
The Senators responded in the 16th minute when Habs defender Corey Scheunemann sent a superb pass to Austin Watson in the confrontational circle. His one-off shot didn’t give Canadian goalkeeper Jake Allen a chance.
Allen was solid, especially towards the end of the period against Josh Norris with a masterful pass from Brady Tkachuk.
Two of the best saves of the period were saved through blog posts. Schueneman was first robbed by the bar senators, while at the other end, a standing Tkachuk touched after a witty fake at close range.
The Senators scored their first win over the Canadians of the season.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Graham Hughes
turbulent sequence
The many transformations fueled a somewhat entertaining second period.
Early in the period, the senators offered two good opportunities to Coffield and Hoffmann, who did not take advantage of their solo appearances against Forsberg.
Coffield was later sent off for a foul when he came into contact with an opponent at the Blue Line. Six seconds later, the Senators advanced with Tim Stutzel’s 15th goal.
The progression lasted only 31 seconds. Justin Barron showed his agility on the skis, moved gracefully until he found a window to shoot, which he did to achieve his first goal in the National League, a feat that was admired by the Montreal fans.
If the Senators took advantage of getting out of the chaotic zone to reclaim the lead, Coffield made sure to forget the penalty by scoring his 16th goal of the season to tie the match 3-3. Mike Hoffman will finally be able to say he’s earned at least one point in his 600th game since he got a play assist.
The third period started at the same pace as the second. Since the first game, when Suzuki left about 20 seconds off the penalty kick, the Senators scored their second goal of the match on strong play.
The Tkachuk-Norris duo, who have played a strong game, have allowed Drake Batherson to break the tie with his team 14 this season.
Then, while a late Gallagher penalty was announced, the senators sent a sixth striker onto the ice and seized the opportunity. Colin White beat Allen with a superb shot and Ottawa advanced with two goals.
A sign that two teams seemed to want to develop a good rivalry, the scrum broke out one minute after the end of the match. Old warrior Gallagher is also responsible for reminding young Stützle that not everything is allowed for talented players.
There is another match left between the two teams and at this point they will surely be eliminated.
