Senators Win OT Thriller, 4-3

On Saturday night, the Ottawa Senators overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Montreal Canadiens to win 4-3 in overtime before a nearly sold-out and loud crowd at Canadian Tire Centre. With the victory, the Senators improve their record to 4-2-1.

“We want to have a sixty minute mentality”, said Senators head coach Guy Boucher after the win. “Meaning, that, it doesn’t matter what the score is, we can’t lose our game. We got to be aggressive with our actions but we got to be patient with our result….We’re not beating ourselves, and we don’t get out of whack because the score is two or three goals behind, so I thought that’s exactly what it was today”.

In addition to the 60-minute mentality, Boucher also credits selflessness for the Senators early success. In the post-game press conference, he said, “Every game, we get a real sense of team game, where everybody feels that anybody can contribute, and when nobody cares who gets the credit, you really start to have a team and that’s what’s happening”.

With their second overtime loss this season, the Canadiens record falls to 4-1-2.

Montreal’s Early Lead

The Canadiens came out flying at the start of the game and would control most of the first period. Besides the sheer adrenaline rush, Boucher identified another reason for Montreal’s early lead. “We got behind also because we took penalties right away”, he admitted, referring to penalties by Thomas Chabot and Chris Wideman. These infractions were blown down by the referees at 0:24 seconds and 2:56 minutes into the game, respectively.

Montreal capitalized by scoring on the second power play when Max Domi ripped a shot past Craig Anderson only 3:40 into the game. The Habs would strike again merely 25 seconds later, off a pretty passing play that was finished by Phillip Danault. Although Mark Stone and the Senators would cut the lead in half, the Canadiens created another two-goal margin when Paul Byron tapped home a nice cross-crease pass from Joel Armia.

Ottawa’s Comeback

The Senators used the second period to battle back into the game. Down 3-1, they scored twice to tie the game 3-3. The comeback started when Colin White made an instinctive bank pass off the boards to Mikkel Boedker, who then drove a rush into Montreal’s zone before coolly shooting the puck off Carey Price‘s back from a difficult angle. The comeback was completed a couple minutes later when Matt Duchene netted his first of the season, which came on the power play after he received a smooth pass from Bobby Ryan.

Overtime

After erasing the Canadiens two-goal lead, the Senators never looked back. They pressed on the gas and put on the pressure to take over much of the game in the third period and overtime. Despite outplaying Montreal, it appeared, for some time, that Ottawa could not attain the goal they needed to pull ahead. On multiple occasions, they bumbled scoring chances, bobbled pucks, and missed connecting on passes. Finally, at 2:30 into overtime, Stone, the game’s first star, released a bullet past Price on the Senators 34th shot to secure the win.

Snap Shots

• The Senators have now played four of five games during their home-stand. They hold a record of 3-1-0 during this time, along with six of eight possible points so far.
• Saturday’s matchup was the first of four between the Canadiens and the Senators this season. These Atlantic Division rivals will verse each other three more times, all scheduled in December. Buckle up.
• In the first period, the hometown team paid a special tribute to legendary play-by-play announcer, Bob Cole. Cole has been calling the game for 50 years and is set for retirement. This was his last call in Ottawa, and he received a standing ovation from the crowd, as well as a stick salute from Senators on the ice.
• Fact: When Stone, Ryan, and Duchene combine on a goal together, they represent $20.6 million in salaries, or almost 30 percent of Ottawa’s total salary committed this year, according to CapFriendly.com.
• Senators goalie Anderson lost his skate blade in the second period. Usually, it’s his teammate, Mark Borowiecki, who falls victim to the loose blade.
• Zack Smith made an incredible effort to save a goal when he blocked a Montreal shot by standing in the crease behind Anderson. Smith’s heroic block was definitely a candidate for save of the game.

Official 3 Stars of the Game

1) Mark Stone, Ottawa (2G, 1A, including the overtime game-winner)
2) Matt Duchene, Ottawa (1G, 1A)
3) Paul Byron, Montreal (1G, 1A)

Up Next

The Senators close out their five-game home-stand against Boston, when they welcome the Bruins to Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday, October 23.

Scoring Summary

Cover Photo Credit: Sean Kilpatrick, Canadian Press

Billy Morrison covers the Ottawa Senators and the Atlantic Division for Full Press Coverage. Follow Billy on Twitter, @BillyMorrison01.