Brady Tkachuk had a “Gordie Howe hat trick” with a goal, assist and a fight as the Ottawa Senators defeated the visiting Vancouver Canucks 6-3 on Wednesday.
Thomas Chabot added a goal and an assist for the Senators (19-27-4, 42 points), who moved out of last place in the all-Canadian North Division for the first time since the opening week of the season.
Victor Mete, Chris Tierney, Josh Norris and Colin White also scored for Ottawa, which took three of four games from Vancouver (19-21-3, 41 points) in the home-and-home series that featured two games in each city. Alex Formenton had two assists and goaltender Marcus Hogberg made 19 saves.
Tyler Myers had a goal and an assist, with Jake Virtanen and Brandon Sutter also scoring for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko stopped 27 of 32 shots.
The Canucks dropped to 3-3-0 since an 18-day pause because of a COVID-19 outbreak in which 22 players and four staff members tested positive.
Mete gave the Senators an early lead at 2:04 of the first period, taking a lead pass from Formenton at center ice, splitting two defenders at the blue line and beating Demko with a wrist shot from between the faceoff circles.
It remained 1-0 until the second, when the teams combined for five goals in the opening 7:23 of the period.
Tierney scored 38 seconds into the second after a shot from the blue line went off the shin pads of defenseman Alexander Edler and fell straight to Tierney near the right post.
Norris made it 3-0 just 32 seconds later, tapping the puck into the net from the top of the crease after taking a pass from Tkachuk.
Myers pulled the Canucks within 3-1 with a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle at 5:43.
Chabot restored the three-goal lead at 6:36 before Virtanen scored at 7:23 to make it 4-2.
Tkachuk tallied off a breakaway down the right wing at 16:13 of the second for a 5-2 lead.
White scored an empty-net goal at 14:33 of the third after the Canucks pulled Demko with more than seven minutes remaining.
Sutter capped the scoring at 17:43.
–Field Level Media