Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle each registered two goals and an assist as the Ottawa Senators cruised past the visiting Boston Bruins 7-2 on Monday night.
Batherson factored into the scoring in all three periods, including the game-tying goal at 10:25 of the first. Claude Giroux netted the go-ahead goal at 1:08 of the second, while Stutzle lit the lamp twice to highlight Ottawa’s four-goal final frame.
Fabian Zetterlund posted a goal and an assist, Nick Cousins also scored and Jake Sanderson had three helpers for the Senators, who overcame an early 1-0 deficit and finished 4-for-5 on the power play en route to their third consecutive win.
Ottawa’s Leevi Merilainen stopped 27 of 29 shots after allowing seven goals in his only other start this season.
Morgan Geekie and Viktor Arvidsson scored while Jeremy Swayman made 17 saves for Boston, which has lost six of seven.
The Bruins had a 29-24 advantage in shots, but allowed two goals on four second-period shots from Ottawa.
Geekie opened the scoring 3:06 into the first, picking off an attempted breakout pass and stepping into the left circle for an unassisted wrist shot goal. It was his fifth goal in as many games.
At 10:25, Batherson evened the score with a power-play goal inside the left post after corralling the rebound of Ridly Greig’s shot from the circle.
Ottawa took the lead at 1:08 of the middle frame. Michael Amadio sent a backhander towards goal while driving down the left side, and a wide-open Giroux tipped it home from the crease in front of Swayman.
The visitors remained on the defensive for much of the second period, going until the 8:53 mark without registering a shot on goal. Batherson then made it 3-1 at 14:44, taking advantage of a turnover behind the net as he was wide open for a short-side wrist shot in front.
Just five seconds into a first-minute man advantage in the third, Stutzle cashed in to up the Senators’ lead to 4-1. The centerman skated down the left wing and fired in a top-shelf wrister.
Stutzle made it back-to-back goals for the Ottawa power play, redirecting a Sanderson point shot at 9:33.
At 12:22, Cousins banged in a loose puck after Swayman’s save on Stutzle from the wing popped up at the net front.
Zetterlund capped Ottawa’s scoring just 42 seconds later, scoring off a Thomas Chabot one-time feed to the high left side.
Arvidsson scored from the high slot to bring the Bruins within five with 9.7 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
