Brady Tkachuk scored twice and assisted once, while Drake Batherson netted the deciding goal in the shootout, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 5-4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Shane Pinto and Thomas Chabot also found the net for Ottawa, which won all three games against Montreal this season and extended its winning streak against them to nine games.
Joonas Korpisalo stopped 21 shots for Ottawa. Montreal’s Cole Caufield scored twice, with Mike Matheson and Alex Newhook also adding goals. Cayden Primeau made 40 saves.
Tkachuk reached a personal best of 37 goals this season, but with Ottawa already out of playoff contention, he didn’t see it as a big achievement.
“It doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things,” said Tkachuk. “As I said before, this season wasn’t about individual goals but more about team goals, and unfortunately, we didn’t achieve them. There are many lessons to learn from this season.”
It was a mix of emotions for Senators interim coach Jacques Martin, who coached his last game at the Canadian Tire Centre, as he won’t be returning next season.
“It’s been a great experience,” Martin said. “I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to come back and hopefully guide the team in understanding what it takes to make the playoffs, how you need to perform every night and help the players develop and improve.
“As an organization, we still have some work to do, but I believe we’re moving in the right direction.”
With the game tied at 3-3, Newhook’s shot deflected off Ottawa’s Jakob Chychrun to give Montreal a 4-3 lead with 4:11 remaining in regulation. However, Chabot tied the game 4-4 with just 1:05 left on the clock.
“Being in so many close games this season is an invaluable experience,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis. “These are real situations you can’t replicate. Sometimes you’re protecting a lead, sometimes you’re trying to come back. Overtimes and shootouts are what they are, but as we progress, we’ll start winning these games.”
