Forsberg and Brannstrom Shine at Home as Senators Sweep Games in Sweden

The Senators won their third game in a row, defeating the Minnesota Wild 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday afternoon.

The Ottawa Senators capped off a sweep of their Global Series in Sweden with a 2-1 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday afternoon. And it was the Swedish Sens who shined.

Anton Forsberg was not only saving pucks but setting up goals, with an incredible assist on Erik Brannstrom's equalizer in the third period. Forsberg also stopped 24 of 25 shots in the win. The Senators improved their record to 8-7-0 and have now won three games in a row for the second time this season. It's also the first time the Senators have been above .500 since October 24th.

The first period was testy and tight-checking, with limited chances. Brady Tkachuk did have a breakaway early on but was stopped by former Senator Filip Gustavsson. Neither team was able to find the net in the first period.

The Wild were given a rare penalty shot early in the second period after Brannstrom closed his hand on the puck inside the crease. Fellow countryman Marcus Johansson took the penalty shot, but Forsberg slid across and stopped Johansson's backhand attempt. 

The Wild kept the pressure on and pounced first, with a goal midway through the second period from former Ottawa 67 Marco Rossi, who deflected a point shot from Brock Faber.

The Senators tied the game in the third period with a sizzling, surreal Swedish connection, led by Forsberg, who snapped a long pass up to Brannstrom that caught the Wild on a poor line change. That left Brannstrom all alone for a beautiful slap-shot goal.

The two clubs couldn't muster a goal the rest of the third period and overtime. The shootout was scoreless until Ottawa's third shooter, Josh Norris, came down from the left side and snapped a wrister over Gustavsson's glove.

The Wild's Joel Eriksson Ek had to score to keep the game alive. He tried to pull a Forsberg deke on Anton Forsberg, yet Forsberg stopped the Forsberg.

The game's first star was Forsberg, who spoke about how special it was for him to be playing back home in Sweden. 

"It's something I never would imagine I would be able to do," said Forsberg. "I get the opportunity to play here, so I'm super happy to be here and play and win a game here."

It was a productive business trip for the Senators, who head home with two victories and were able to have some fun as well. 

"That was an awesome trip," Forsberg said. "Guys have gotten together; we had a lot of team stuff and activities. So, we had a lot of fun for sure." 

With Forsberg and Brannstrom acting as tour guides in Sweden this week, it figures they'd be the ones to guide them to victory.

By the Numbers:

Jakob Chychrun played in his 400th career NHL game, while Brannstrom played in his 400th and got his 50th career point. With Saturday's win, the Senators improved to 5-0-1 in games outside of North America. Forsberg recorded his first win since October 18th. The Senators are now 2-0-0 when Daniel Alfredsson has been on the bench as a coach.

The Senators (8-7-0) now head home to play the New York Islanders (5-6-5) at 7 pm on Friday at the Canadian Tire Centre.