Tkachuk breaks tie late in 3rd, Senators top Canadiens for 4th win in row

MONTREAL --Brady Tkachuk scored with 1:18 remaining in the third period, and the Ottawa Senators extended their winning streak to four games with a 5-4 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

After receiving a pass from
Tim Stutzle
in the left face-off circle, Tkachuk scored on a wrist shot that deflected off the skate of a sliding David Savard.
"You felt the momentum on their side," Tkachuk said. "Of course it was a lucky break, but it felt pretty good to silence the crowd and kind of take all that momentum away."

Stutzle had two goals and two assists, Claude Giroux scored for the fourth straight game (five goals), and Thomas Chabot had three assists for Ottawa (24-23-3), which has outscored opponents 18-7 during the streak. Anton Forsberg made 28 saves for his third consecutive win, including a 5-0 victory against the Canadiens on Saturday.
The Senators don't play again until Feb. 11 against the Edmonton Oilers.
"I think we started off pretty good, played the first two periods the way we wanted, and then the third wasn't our best period," Stutzle said. "But then we stuck with it, and then had a big goal there by 'Chucky.'"

Rafael Harvey-Pinard scored twice, Mike Hoffman had a goal and an assist, and Jake Allen made 24 saves for Montreal (20-27-4), which is 0-3-1 in its past four games and has been outscored 18-9.
The Canadiens don't play again until Feb. 11 against the New York Islanders.
"We battled hard," Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said. "We weren't very happy with our first period, but I think the rest of the way we played really hard, had a ton of chances, and just a real unfortunate bounce there at the end in the last minute."
Harvey-Pinard tied it 3-3 at 11:02 of the third when he redirected a pass by Suzuki backdoor on a power play, but Stutzle scored 1:12 later at 12:14 to give Ottawa a 4-3 lead with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle on a power play.
Harvey-Pinard tied it again 4-4 at 14:16 when he followed up his shot and knocked in a loose puck in the crease. It was his second multigoal game in his past three. He has five goals in seven games since being recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League on Jan. 17.
"It's going pretty good right now," Harvey-Pinard said. "I'm still not 100 percent satisfied. I think I can do more in little details, but I think I'm doing a good job. So, I just need to play with consistency and bring that night after night."

Giroux gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 2:57 of the first period when a shot by Nikita Zaitsev from the top of the right circle deflected off his glove, and Stutzle extended it to 2-0 at 3:49 after receiving a spinning pass from Mathieu Joseph.
Kirby Dach cut it to 2-1 at 13:20 on a power play, reaching behind Forsberg for a loose puck following a save on Suzuki.
Alex DeBrincat pushed it to 3-1 at 16:23 of the second period, scoring with a wrist shot glove side after receiving a dot-to-dot pass from Stutzle on a power play.
Hoffman cut it to 3-2 at 19:55 with a one-timer from the top of the right circle on a power play.
"Obviously we battled hard and we fought back all night, and we weren't out of it, we stayed in it," Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj said. "Tough bounce at the end, but that's just how some games go."
NOTES: Tkachuk has 51 points (20 goals, 31 assists) in 50 games, the fourth player in Ottawa history to have at least 50 points through 50 games at age 23 or younger, joining Jason Spezza (twice), Martin Havlat, Marian Hossa and Alexei Yashin. … Stutzle has 22 goals in 46 games, tying his career high set last season in 79 NHL games. … Giroux extended his point streak to five games (five goals, four assists). … Suzuki had two assists and has 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 51 games this season, becoming the 12th player to have 40 points in each of his first four seasons with the Canadiens, and the first since Saku Koivu (1995-96 to 1998-99).