Tkachuk's late goal lifts Senators over Canadiens 5-4

Ottawa Senators' Brady Tkachuk (7) reacts after scoring against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen during third period NHL hockey action in Montreal, Tuesday, January 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Brady Tkachuk scored at 18:41 of the third period to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 5-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.

The surging Senators (24-23-3) will head into the NHL All-Star break with a sense of accomplishment, having extended their winning streak to four games.

Tim Stutzle scored two goals and added two assists, while Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux also found the back of the net for the visitors.

Anton Forsberg made 28 saves.

Rafael Harvey-Pinard kept the Canadiens (20-27-4) in the game with two third-period goals. Kirby Dach and Mike Hoffman also scored for Montreal, which dropped its fourth in a row.

Jake Allen made 24 saves for the Canadiens and kept the dreaded Reverse Retro curse going as they hold a 0-6-1 record wearing light blue.

During the morning skate, Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said he wanted his team to “respect the day and not jump straight into the (All-Star) break.” However, the Senators were the ones with a hot start scoring two goals on their first three shots.

Standing in front of the net, Giroux redirected Nikita Zaitsev’s wrist shot from atop the right faceoff circle to open the scoring.

Ottawa took a two-goal lead 52 seconds later when Mathieu Joseph’s pass into the offensive zone hit Jordan Harris and fell straight to Stutzle. The German swiftly shot the puck over Allen’s shoulder to net his 21st goal of the season.

Montreal cut the Sens’ lead in half on the power play at 13:12 of the opening frame. In the crease, Nick Suzuki managed to slide the puck under Forsberg and Dach finally tapped the puck past the goal line.

After being robbed by Allen with a glove save earlier in the second frame, DeBrincat exacted his revenge on the man-advantage. Stutzle sent a cross-ice pass and the winger completed the one-timer to regain Ottawa’s two-goal cushion.

Jake Sanderson took a tripping penalty late in the second period, giving Montreal another chance to bridge the gap. With five seconds left, Hoffman slapped home a pass from Mike Matheson to make it a 3-2 game by the second intermission.

Harvey-Pinard continued on his impressive form since getting recalled from the AHL and tied the game 3-3 in the final frame. The Saguenay, Que., native tapped in a pass sent across the slot from Suzuki.

Ottawa responded with a power-play goal just over one minute later. Stutzle scored his second of the night by beating Allen with a wrister from atop the right faceoff circle.

Harvey-Pinard wasn’t done there. The winger snagged the puck from Sanderson and bagged his second of the night, and his fifth goal in seven games.

The Sens had the last laugh, however, when Stutzle combined with Tkachuk for the captain to ice the game at 18:41 of the final frame.

50 IN 50

With an assist on Tim Stutzle’s goal, Brady Tkachuk reached the 50-point mark in his 50th game of the season. He became the fastest Senator to reach that mark since 2018-19.

Tkachuk and Stutzle combined for a 49th and 50th goal since the German joined the Senators in 2020-21, tying Tkachuk and Drake Batherson’s partnership of 50.

UP NEXT

The Canadiens will host the New York Islanders on Feb. 11.

The Senators will welcome the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 11.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2023.