Brady Tkachuk was already having a good game, but the Ottawa Senators forward took it to the next level when he scored in overtime in a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Canadian Tire Center on Wednesday night.
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The captain ended the game after just 25 seconds of overtime. He also previously had three assists.
It has to be said that the local favourites, trying to find their way to victory after back-to-back defeats, were hot. Casey DeSmith did what he could in front of the Pens’ goal, but the 40 shots he received were too many.
DeSmith has been on his own more than once. The Senators had nine power plays and scored all four goals in regulation time on a rush. Alex DeBrincat, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Shane Pinto all hit the mark.
Like Tkachuk before him, Stutzle had his second straight 20-goal season before the age of 22. The German scored well by passing Sidney Crosby before beating DeSmith with a good throw.
The Penguins are doing pretty well as they only aimed 19 pucks at Cam Talbot who looked weak at times. Crosby and Evgeni Malkin notably finished with three points each.
When he returned to the game after 38 away games, “Sens” striker Josh Norris did not collect a point despite 19:14 minutes on the ice.
No victory for Dufour
In New York, Quebec forward William Dufour made his debut with the Islanders, but they lost 4-1 to the mighty Boston Bruins.
Zach Parisé was the only goalscorer for the local side. Dufour, on the other hand, was only used at 6:48 by head coach Lane Lambert despite his presence in the front row at the beginning of the game. The 20-year-old finished the game with a difference of -2.
In the second section, the visitors took matters into their own hands. Charlie McAvoy fired a cannonball that defeated goaltender Semyon Varlamov. It was the American’s first goal since November 23.
Midway through the period, Derek Forbort gave the Bruins the lead. Varlamov only partially stopped Pavel Zacha’s shot and the defender just had to push the loose puck into the net.
Brad Marchand scored on the power play early in the third period in a great game of tic-tac-toe started by David Pastrnak and McAvoy, then Trent Frederic added his 10th goal of the season.