Senators hang on, hand Flames 1st loss in 5 games

OTTAWA -- Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk each had a goal and an assist, and the Ottawa Senators ended a five-game losing streak with a 4-3 win against the Calgary Flames at Canadian Tire Centre on Monday.

“I think it was a really big bounce back effort by our group,” Tkachuk said. “You know what -- it wasn't the prettiest of games, but I think that's what we need to do to have success. I thought the whole group was bought in tonight and dialed in and [did] whatever it [took] to win.”

Ottawa was 0-4-1 and outscored 21-11 during its skid.

“I mean, when you've lost a few in a row and there’s been a lot of talk around Ottawa about losing a few in a row, it's nice to get a win,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “A good 60 minutes of hockey. I don't think we over-thought the game. We took what it gave us. We deserved to win.”

Cole Reinhardt scored his first NHL goal, and Ridly Greig and Jake Sanderson each had two assists for Ottawa (9-11-1), which won its second game of the season after allowing the first goal of the game (2-10-1). Anton Forsberg made 24 saves.

The Senators were 2-for-9 on the power play.

“They have a lot of skilled players over there,” Calgary defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “You know, if we give them nine opportunities, they’re going to score one eventually, and they got two. I still think our PK did a pretty good job. I mean, we have nine PKs, a 5-on-3, a four-minute [double] minor. … Like I said, it felt like every other shift was a PK shift.”

Jonathan Huberdeau, Yegor Sharangovich and Nazem Kadri scored, and Dustin Wolf made 26 saves for the Flames (12-7-3), who had won four straight.

“It’s not just the penalty killers, it’s the other guys that don’t kill penalties because they’re sitting on the bench for long periods of time, so they’re out of rhythm in the game,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “So, you’re overplaying certain guys; you’re underplaying other guys. And then you’re expecting them to pick up where you’re expecting them to be, having been sitting on the bench for long periods of time.”

Huberdeau gave the Flames a 1-0 lead on the power play at 14:32 of the first period when he took a centering pass from Matt Coronato and scored with a wrist shot blocker side on Forsberg.

Adam Gaudette scored into an open net off a cross-slot pass from Greig to tie it 1-1 at 17:05.

Ottawa thought it'd taken a 2-1 lead at 17:44 when Tkachuk scored on a power play, but Calgary challenged for goaltender interference and the call on the ice was overturned.

Batherson tipped a Sanderson point shot on the power play to make it 2-1 at 3:18 of the second period.

“I've said this a lot: The games don't always look a lot different, and you find a way to win,” Green said. “Today, I thought we just stuck with it. We didn't shoot ourselves in the foot. We played, up until the last maybe two or three games, we've played some pretty good games that looked a lot like this, and we just didn't win them. And that's kind of today's NHL.”

Reinhardt pushed it to 3-1 at 13:17, finishing a passing play with Greig and Sanderson. Reinhardt found out at 2 p.m. in Belleville that he was getting called up from the American Hockey League to play against his childhood team, and immediately drove to Ottawa.

“I grew up [in Calgary]. I train there in the summer. It's pretty special,” the 24-year-old said. “I mean, you watch that team growing up, so it helps your love for hockey, and to score your first goal against them is pretty cool.”

Sharangovich scored off of a Nick Jensen clearing attempt during a scramble in front of the net to cut it to 3-2 at 15:27.

“We took [nine] minor penalties,” Huska said. “I don’t care what league you’re in, you’re not going to win a hockey game or give yourself a chance to win. But hey, 5-on-5 I thought we worked hard, and we did some things; there was a fight right to the end, which I’m pretty proud of our group for. But we didn’t really give ourselves a chance with the amount of penalties we were taking tonight.”

Tkachuk made it 4-2 at 1:14 of the third period when he beat Wolf glove side with a wrist shot from the slot on a power play. On Saturday, the Senators captain drew the ire of fans on social media and local radio station TSN 1200’s post-game show for taking 21 minutes of penalties in a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

“I just want to give my blood, sweat and tears to the guys in this room," Tkachuk said. "And that's what I feel like I do and pride myself on: giving absolutely everything I have for this team and for this group. And, you know what, to be honest, I didn't see much of [the criticism.] I’ve kind of been just focused on the here and now and my teammates. And to be honest, I just care about winning here and just giving absolutely everything I have for this team.”

Kadri scored with the Flames' net empty for the 4-3 final with 39 seconds remaining.

“It was a bit of a funny game,” Kadri said. “It was a little bit off with all of the penalties, obviously some challenges and some whistles. The rhythm wasn’t great. I mean, you’re in the box for a full period; I don’t think you’re going to win many games [that way]. But it was a great fight by us. We stayed in it, but we’ve got to be more disciplined.”