Batherson has hat trick, assist for Senators in win against Rangers
Sanderson gets 3 points, Johansson makes 24 saves in debut for Ottawa
By Zoe Pierce
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
OTTAWA -- Drake Batherson scored a hat trick and had an assist to help the Ottawa Senators to a 7-4 victory against the New York Rangers at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.
The forward completed his third NHL hat trick when he blocked a point shot by Adam Fox, and the puck ricocheted all the way down for an empty-net goal at 19:48 of the third period for the 7-4 final.
“That was good,” Batherson said. “Obviously, a weird one, but I'll take it for sure. I think we started off really good. Thought our first period was awesome, and then obviously they kind of climbed back in it, and it was tight right to the end.”
Jake Sanderson had a goal and two assists, and Dylan Cozens and Michael Amadio each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (8-4-0), who have won three of their past five games.
Jonas Johansson made 24 saves and had an assist in his Ottawa debut. The goalie was traded to the Senators by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sept. 25.
“It felt great,” Johansson said of the win. "I mean, it was a tight game. Could have went either way, but we came up strong at the end there.”
Said Batherson: “(Johansson) made some saves that ultimately kept us in it, and yeah, it was great to get him his first win, and he was pretty fired up.”
J.T. Miller and Will Cuylle each had a goal and an assist, and Fox had two assists to give him seven in his past three games for the Rangers (7-5-1), who have lost two straight and four of five. Dylan Garand made 17 saves.
“What's encouraging is I loved our compete and our fight, you know, to claw back into the game,” New York coach Mike Sullivan said. “But it's hard to win chasing the game the way we did.”
Batherson made it 1-0 at 5:34 of the first period. Sanderson skated to the slot and fed Batherson on the wing, who beat Garand blocker side.
“I loved the start of our game,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “I thought we came out and really kind of established the way we play and the way we want to play.”
Just 1:06 later, Tim Stutzle put the Senators up 2-0 at 6:40, scoring in his third straight game. Fabian Zetterlund found Stutzle driving to the net for a tap-in.
Batherson made it 3-0 at 1:47 of the second period, taking a quick kick-pass from Cozens alone in front and lifting it over Garand.
Cuylle scored short-handed to put the Rangers on the board at 10:07. A blocked pass in the Rangers’ end led to Noah Laba and Cuylle breaking out on a 2-on-1 before Laba chipped it to Cuylle alone in front, who beat Johansson to make it 3-1.
“I think it's kind of a tale of two stories,” Cuylle said. “I thought the second half of the game pretty good. Third period we were really physical, but first period I thought they out-checked us.”
Cozens extended the Senators’ lead to 4-1 at 11:21, deflecting a shot from Batherson past Garand.
Miller made it 4-2 at 12:54, batting in a bouncing puck from a Fox feed toward the net.
“They just were beating us to pucks, more physical, winning their puck battles,” Miller said. “And when that happens, ice seems to open up. I mean, like I said, we're trying to do the exact same thing as them, and they came out on top of us.”
Alexis Lafreniere brought the Rangers within one at 19:34 during 4-on-4 play, burying a pass from Miller on a 2-on-1 to make it 4-3.
“I really liked the fight at the end, and we were that close to tying it,” Miller said. “Goofy bounce for them at the end of that power play. It's funny how the game works. … Once we got our legs under us, after the first period, I thought we played a good game.”
Sanderson backhanded a rebound past Garand to extend the Senators’ lead to 5-3 at 13:38 of the third period.
“Big win at home before a long road stand,” Sanderson said. “So you know, it was awesome. Our fans came out tonight and supported us on a great Saturday. So I'm glad we got the win for them.”
Pavel Dorofeyev made it a one-goal game for the second time of the night at 5-4 at 15:32, one-timing a pass from Cuylle.
“After a game like that, you just want to enjoy the win, and you're not looking to be negative by any means,” Green said. “But we'll show video on Monday and talk about certain moments in the game, like we always do. But it was a heck of a job for our team to get a win tonight.”
Amadio added an empty-net goal at 18:46 before Batherson scored his empty-net goal at 19:48 for the 7-4 final.
“Game's never over till it's over,” Sanderson said. “You know, they had their push, they had their chances, and I think credit to us not to give up and cave and just keep pushing through till the end.”
NOTES: Stutzle scored his League-leading sixth first-period goal of the season. … Sanderson scored his first goal of the season and became the sixth defenseman in Senators history with 40 in his career. … Batherson’s three hat tricks at home are tied with Dany Heatley and Marian Hossa for the most in Senators history. … Fox, who had four assists in a 5-4 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, has six points over consecutive games for the fourth time in his NHL career. Only Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Leetch (eight times) has more as a Rangers defenseman.
