Trailing three times, Ottawa kept battling back for a 4-3 shootout victory over the Flames.
It won't go down as their finest performance of the season, but the Senators found a way to defeat the last-place Calgary Flames 4–3 in a shootout on Thursday night. Jake Sanderson scored with under three minutes left in regulation to tie the game, and goals by Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle were the difference in the shootout.
Linus Ullmark made 27 saves as the Senators outshot the Flames 38 to 30. After describing the team's performance in Chicago on Tuesday as “immature,” Ullmark walked back those comments after this one.
"I came out a little hot last game, and said some things that I might, afterwards, regret," Ullmark told the media. "And I got to eat them up today because I felt that we played a mature game today. Really, that’s what we did. We were down three times in the game, and we came back all three times and grabbed the win in the shootout. That shows some guts and some maturity right there."
Lars Eller led the way offensively with a goal and an assist. He's been an outstanding pickup for the Sens, and well on his way to making people forget Adam Gaudette, who left in free agency over the summer. Eller already has six points so far on the young season with two goals and four assists.
Calgary scored twice in the first period with the extra man on goals by Yegor Sharangovich and Matt Coronato. Sandwiched in between was a shorthanded goal by Eller, who slid home a rebound after a shot from Shane Pinto.
After a scoreless second period, Artem Zub tied things in the third on a wrist shot from the point. It looked harmless when it left his stick, but Fabian Zetterlund did a great job of screening Flames goalie Devin Cooley, who was making only his second start of the season and eighth of his career. Cooley had no chance on the play.
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Six minutes later, Jake Sanderson gave the puck away at center ice, but the Senators still had good numbers coming back as Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri sprinted up ice the other way. But between Nick Jensen, Claude Giroux, and Michael Amadio, no one took Kadri. Kadri took the pass from Huberdeau, sprinted to the net, and beat Ullmark.
Sanderson tied it up with just under three minutes to go when Nick Cousins headed to the net and tripped up Mackenzie Weegar from behind. While Weegar was lying on the ice, Sanderson's shot from the point banked in off Weegar’s back.
Overtime settled nothing, the shootout lasted only two rounds, and the Sens had their two points.
The Senators will have to ramp things up for a big divisional game in Montreal on Saturday night against the Canadiens, who hold a three-point lead on Ottawa atop the Atlantic.
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