Senators cool Vegas, 4-3, after penalties Stützle  pots only marker on skills

Posted on by

In Las Vegas, the Golden Knights’ Chandler Stephenson scored with 75 seconds left in regulation to the visiting Ottawa Senators, 3-3, on Saturday. The Senators took a 4-3 win when Tim Stützle  hit for the only marker on skills.

Anton Forsberg made 26 saves in the win.

“He’s played well,” Senators coach Jacques Martin said. “I think early in the game he wasn’t as sharp, but as the game went on he played with a lot of confidence and poise and made some big saves for us. And in the shootout he was perfect.”

The Senators moved to 25-27-3 off their third win in four games.

“I feel like I’ve had a pretty decent run here,” Forsberg said. “I feel more comfortable in my game. I’m having a lot of fun out there right now. I bet all the guys are having fun. Everything goes hand in hand, right? If I can come with some big saves, the guys can block some shots for me, and we start trusting each other more and more. That’s working pretty well right now.”

Vegas took a 2-0 lead in the game.

Jonathan Marchessault staked the Knights to a 1-0 lead at 5:41 of the opening stanza.

Stephenson hit off the power play for his first of the night at at 3:03 of the middle frame for the 2-0 advantage. second period on the power play, beating a heavily screened Forsberg with a wrist shot from the right face-off dot.

“The second period, we had a chance to extend the lead over and over,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “The game was there in front of us to extend the lead and go into the third period in a good spot. It just didn’t happen for us.”

The Golden Knights dropped to 32-19-7 off their third straight loss.

“I think it’s something to build off for a long road trip here,” Stephenson said. “Obviously, it would have been nice to secure that two-goal lead we had here, but credit to them for their push and for us to get one late to get a point out of it. Shootouts can go either way.”

The Senators cut into the lead when Thomas Chabot  scored nine minutes into the second for a 2-1 lead to the Golden Knights.

“I think maybe in the past, if we got down early, obviously we still worked, but I think now we’ve come back in a few games and we believe that we can come back,” Ottawa’s Drake Batherson said. “It’s not easy against a team like that. You look at their defense is really a veteran D core. So, give the boys credit for working hard.”

Batherson hit off the power play at 18:47 of the seocnd to tie the game, 2-2.

“Josh got a stick on it, it actually broke his stick,” Batherson said. “And then it went right to Brady and I just kind of yelled as loud as I can and he just passed to my voice right on the tape. Great play by him. I just kind of had to put it in the empty net there.”

Josh Norris pushed the Senators into the lead, 3-2, at 5:48 of the third period.

“We know how to play and we’ve been doing that now for a couple games,” Chabot said. “At the end of the day, it’s just sticking to it.”

Logan Thompson made 30 saves in the loss.

It was a bit back and forth,” Vegas’ WIlliam Karlsson said. “I thought we played a pretty good game, but obviously, they came back. But overall, it was even and I thought we were playing well. It’s hockey. The momentum carried over to their favor and they did a good job as well limiting us for a time. Kudos to them as well.”