Senators snap 5-game home losing streak with 4-1 win over Calgary Flames
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The Ottawa Senators snapped a five-game home ice losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night.
It was a team effort with Mathieu Joseph, Drake Batherson, Rourke Chartier and Travis Hamonic all scoring. Joonas Korpisalo was solid in goal stopping 24 shots.
“Whenever you win it’s always a good feeling,” said Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. “Losing is never fun, so I think we’re getting there. We’re finding our game. We’re finding what makes us successful and we’re just going to keep the ball rolling and keep the momentum going.”
Dustin Wolf made his season debut for the Flames making 34 saves, but didn’t get much offensive support as Blake Coleman scored the lone goal for Calgary.
“It’s frustrating when you feel like the game’s right there for you,” said Coleman. “They made plays and there was nothing (Wolf) could’ve done on those, obviously. He gave us a great chance to be in this game. He played really well. We wish we could’ve got him his win today.”
With his first of the season, Chartier gave the Senators a 3-1 lead early in the third off a nice feed from Dominik Kubalik. It’s Chartier’s second ever NHL goal, with the last coming Oct. 28, 2018.
“After sitting out two years and I’d played and as much as I hoped and knew inside myself that I would get another crack, hopefully, you mean you never really know,” said Chartier. “Obviously, I would have liked to get it a few games earlier, but definitely worth the wait.
“I think this one probably feels even better than the first one. Hopefully I don’t have to wait as long for the third one.”
Less than two minutes later Hamonic scored his first of the season.
Ottawa took a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal early in the second. Brady Tkachuk tipped Jakob Chychrun’s shot and the puck went high but Batherson was able to bat it in as it came down.
Calgary cut the lead in half 15:52 into the second on a two-on-one when Martin Pospisil fed a wide-open Coleman.
The Senators had a two-man advantage for 71 seconds late in the period, but failed to capitalize as Wolf made a number of saves.
“I think the American (Hockey) League is pretty different from the NHL,” Wolf said. “Those are some big men out there. It’s a lot tougher for myself to fight through screens, which I thought I did a pretty good job of tonight, but at the end of the day, I felt really good.”
The Flames controlled the play for much of the first period, but it was the Senators who struck first when Joseph tipped a Jake Sanderson shot in close.
Ottawa’s Erik Brannstrom returned to the lineup after missing five games with a concussion.
UP NEXT
Flames: At Montreal on Tuesday night to finish a three-game trip.
Senators: Play Detroit on Thursday night in Stockholm, Sweden.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
