Brady Tkachuk scored the game-winner and picked up an assist as the Ottawa Senators topped the host Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Saturday night.
Boris Katchouk and Ridly Greig also scored for Ottawa (33-36-4, 70 points), while Erik Brannstrom, Mark Kastelic, Drake Batherson, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson added helpers. Joonas Korpisalo had 28 saves in the win, Ottawa’s season-best fifth in a row.
Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele got goals for Winnipeg (44-24-6, 94 points), which has lost six straight. Sean Monahan, Dylan DeMelo, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey assisted on the goals. Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves in his 500th career game for the Jets.
It was a rather slow opening 20 minutes for both clubs as penalties kept things tempered. Ottawa was unable to score on three power-play opportunities, while the Jets didn’t connect on their one advantage.
Ehlers opened the scoring 1:57 in the second period. He finished off a rebound created by Monahan who put the puck on the net.
The Senators tied the game less than two minutes later when Katchouk finished off a crisp pass from Brannstrom, banging home a goal into a wide-open net.
Ottawa got the lead with 6:35 left in the second after the Jets struggled to get the puck out of their zone. Grieg polished off the bouncing puck and backhanded it into the net, jumping the Senators ahead 2-1.
Scheifele knotted the game at 2-2 on the power play for Winnipeg with 10:12 left in the third, finding an edge going off the skate of Artem Zub and past the goal line. That tally snapped an 0-for-19 run on the power play for the Jets.
The Senators responded with a goal on the man advantage with Tkachuk potting the go-ahead tally into the net with 1:45 remaining.
Jets forward Gabe Vilardi returned to the lineup after missing the last 15 games due to an enlarged spleen.
–Field Level Media