OTTAWA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) -Two goals and an assist from Drake Batherson led the Ottawa Senators to a 6-3 win over the visiting Boston Bruins. Ottawa opened a 4-1 lead after one period and never looked back, ensuring its fifth straight win and a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1).
Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto each added a goal and an assist, Tyler Kleven and Claude Giroux also scored, and Linus Ullmark made 22 saves for the Senators.
Ullmark stopped eight Boston shots in the third period.
Casey Mittelstadt, David Pastrnak and Marat Khusnutdinov each scored for Boston, which was looking to win its third straight for just the second time this season.
The goals by deadline acquisitions Mittelstadt and Khusnutdinov were their first as Bruins.
Boston’s Jeremy Swayman allowed four goals on 15 shots before Joonas Korpisalo relieved him with 15 saves on 16 shots after the first period.
Ottawa landed the first six shots and validated its dominant start with a 2-0 lead. Pinto scored first on a turnaround shot from the right circle just 3:44 into the proceedings.
The Senators doubled their lead at 9:09 when Nikolas Matinpalo wrapped the puck around the boards to Kleven, who fired a one-timer from high on the left.
Mittelstadt made it 2-1 at the 10:57 mark. After a hard forecheck forced a turnover, Vinni Lettieri sent a backhand pass across the crease to his fellow Minnesota native, who beat Ullmark with a wrist shot.
Then, two goals in a 22-second span put the hosts back in full control at 4-1. Batherson moved the buffer back to two at 16:21, finishing a tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle on the power play.
A Swayman misplay helped keep Ottawa’s offense in the zone, and Greig netted the second quick-fire goal after Pinto’s point shot created an open net-front rebound.
Pastrnak struck first in the middle period, deflecting John Beecher’s wrist shot from the point from near the crease at 6:59.
Batherson reestablished the three-goal difference again at 11:01, potting the rebound of a Thomas Chabot point shot that Dylan Cozens tipped. The Bruins responded just 2:54 later, as Khusnutdinov took Elias Lindholm’s feed down the slot for a wrist shot goal.
Ullmark made a highlight-reel save with 1:29 left in the second, diving across to snatch Mason Lohrei’s one-timer after Jakub Lauko threaded a cross-ice pass. A Nikita Zadorov post in the final minute also kept Ottawa’s lead at 5-3 after two periods.
Giroux’s empty-netter with 1:16 left in regulation iced the game.
–Field Level Media