Chicago exploded for seven goals, overpowering Ottawa's comeback attempt.
The Ottawa Senators had scored seven goals in each of their last two victories, but on Tuesday night in Chicago they found themselves on the receiving end of a seven-goal barrage. Connor Bedard recorded his first NHL hat trick and added an assist as the Blackhawks defeated the Senators 7–3.
Both teams entered the night one game over .500 and holding the final Wild Card spot in their respective conferences.
Linus Ullmark allowed six goals on 26 shots on a night filled with defensive breakdowns and point-blank chances for Chicago. The Blackhawks generated quality opportunities throughout the game and, led by Bedard's elite shooting ability, took full advantage.
Chicago dominated early, jumping out to a 3–0 lead in the first period. In the second period, they extended the lead to 4–0 before the Senators mounted a comeback attempt.
Ottawa finally got on the board after Jake Sanderson's shot from the point went wide, then bounced off the end boards and deflected in off Spencer Knight. Michael Amadio followed with a highlight-reel goal, walking out from behind the net with patience and firing a shot upstairs over Knight’s shoulder. Tim Stützle then made it 4–3 on a two-on-one, using Nick Cousins as a decoy.
At that point, it looked like the Senators might take over the game. However, playing on the second night of a back-to-back with travel from Ottawa soon caught up to them. Chicago regained control and pulled away again in the third period with a couple of quick goals and an empty netter.
Stutzle and Drake Batherson led the way for the Sens with 2 points apiece. After a strong showing against Boston on Monday, Ottawa’s power play couldn’t find any rhythm, finishing 0-for-4. Chicago now owns a 13-1-1 record at home against the Senators in the past 15 games.
After the game, Ullmark took the loss in stride.
"The great thing is that we're just gonna sit on the plane, go back to Ottawa, and the sun's gonna shine again tomorrow hopefully," Ullmark told the media. "Either way, the sun will rise and that's the beauty of it. And we have another game against another Canadian team at home in front of our fans, which is gonna be a lot of fun. The best place to play hockey is at home in Ottawa."
So the Sens modest three-game winning streak ends as their record falls to 5-5-1 on the young season. The Senators return home to host the Calgary Flames on Thursday night, then travel to Montreal to face the Canadiens on Saturday.
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