In Ottawa, the Senators trailed the Washington Capitals, 0-2, after the first period on Thursday night.
Drake Batherson replied with two power play goals in the middle frame to help the Senators rally for a 5-2 win.
“It’s a different team here and there’s more maturity,” Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. “They’re able to be more composed and they’re able to turn it up another gear. Clearly, we weren’t at the gear we wanted to be [in the first period], but give that dressing room credit. Those guys, what they did, got themselves ready for the second and third.”
Anton Forsberg made 22 saves in the Ottawa win.
“I thought we played amazing,”Forsberg said of the third period. “[Washington] didn’t have anything really to come with. I felt like we backchecked, we forechecked, we did all the right things, and if we keep playing like that it will be a fun season.”
T.J. Oshie and Anthony Mantha scored in the opening period to stake the Caps to the early lead.
“We shot ourselves in the foot too many times with the puck,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. “The first period, we did exactly what we wanted to do. We put the puck north, we put it behind them, we’re in the offensive zone, we’re delivering pucks at the net. The second period and third period, we played east-west hockey, we didn’t deliver any pucks. Not good enough.”
Shane Pinto snapped the tie in the third period to give the Sens a 3-2 lead.
“It’s unreal,” Batherson said of Pinto’s release. “I got to skate with him for a month and a half last year when we were both injured. I know what type of player he is. I was telling people all summer to watch this kid this year.”
Tyler Motte and Alex DeBrincat added empty-net goals for the 5-2 final.
Darcy Kuemper made 39 saves in the loss.
“I feel like the first 20 (minutes) we were chipping pucks with speed, going on the forecheck and turning pucks over,” Oshie said. “By the end of the first, I thought we’d backed them up a little bit. I believe we had some entries just by carrying the puck. We were shooting, we were supporting each other, and that kind of just went away. I don’t know, maybe they tired us out or we got a little over-confident with the puck, or whatever it was.”
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