Senators pull away late, beat Stars

[October 16, 2018]  Brady Tkachuk and Mikkel Boedker scored crucial third-period goals, and goaltender Craig Anderson stopped 37 of 38 shots as the Ottawa Senators defeated the visiting Dallas Stars 4-1 on Monday.

Tkachuk snapped a 1-1 tie at 1:27 of the final period, and Boedker doubled the lead nine minutes later. Ottawa also got a second-period goal from Maxime Lajoie and a late empty-net goal from Zack Smith.

John Klingberg got Dallas on the board at the 16:53 mark of the first period when he took a nice feed from Jason Spezza on the power play, found a gap in the Senators' defense and ripped a shot past Anderson for a 1-0 Stars lead. Alexander Radulov also got an assist on the goal.

Klingberg, who has now has six points (four goals, two assists) in five games, tied a Stars record for longest season-opening point streak by a defenseman with his tally.

Lajoie tied the game with just 20 seconds remaining in the second period. Lajoie skated into the Stars' zone and fired a wrist shot past Dallas goalie Ben Bishop, with Matt Duchene getting an assist.

Tkachuk redirected Dylan DeMelo's pinpoint pass from the point past Bishop to give the Senators a 2-1 lead early in the third period. Chris Tierney garnered the first assist on the goal for his entry pass to DeMelo.

Ottawa added a key insurance goal at the 10:12 mark of the third period. Boedker waited on the doorstep as Duchene did yeoman's work behind the Stars' net, finally breaking free from Dallas' Jason Dickinson long enough to spin and find Boedker for a quick wrister and a 3-1 lead.

The Stars pulled out all the stops to try to get back in the contest, pulling Bishop with more than eight minutes to play for two minutes of action and again with 4:37 remaining. However, they could not get the puck past Anderson.

Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (72) skates with the puck in front of Dallas Stars right wing Alexander Radulov (47) in the first period at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Smith put away the win with a near length-of-the-ice empty netter with 1:37 remaining.

Bishop took the loss, his second in a row after winning his first two starts. He turned away 20 shots.

The Stars had been averaging just more than four goals per game through the first four games of the season, three of them wins, but were stymied by the youthful Senators.

Ottawa was picked in the preseason by many to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings but has won three of its first six and earned points in four of its games.

Dallas has a quick turnaround for the second game of a two-game road trip, traveling to New Jersey for a battle with the Devils on Tuesday.

The Senators return to the ice on Saturday when they host the Montreal Canadiens.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.