They say revenge is a dish best served cold. On Wednesday night, Anaheim arrived with an offering of Cold Duck to pair it with.
Ten days after losing to the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in a shootout, the Ottawa Senators shot down the Ducks 5-1 at Canadian Tire Centre. Drake Batherson led the way with a natural hat trick and an assist.
Linus Ullmark has been money for the Senators, posting a 4-0-1 record in his last five games, and stopping 31 of 32 shots on Wednesday. With just over seven minutes left, Cutter Gauthier ended Ullmark’s bid for his second shutout, which would have tied his NHL career high for one season.
As a tip of the cap to First Responders Night, Noah Gregor scored first for Ottawa. According to NHL.com, the Senators are now 10-2 in games where they score first, which is the third-highest score-first winning percentage (.833) in the NHL, behind only the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs.
All three of Batherson’s goals came with a little good fortune. On the first one, Ducks goalie John Gibson was lying on the puck, making it very hard to see if it had crossed the line. The goal was eventually awarded after a long review. The other two caromed in off Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler.
Batherson’s first goal on Wednesday gave him 100 for his career and, according to the league, that made him the 10th-fastest player in Ottawa Senators history to reach the century club in goals.
Brady Tkachuk had the night’s other goal, as he and Tim Stützle each finished with two points for the Senators, improving to 13-13-2 on the season.
On Thursday, the Sens will take part in the Melnyk Skate for Kids at Canadian Tire Centre. Then it’s off to Raleigh, North Carolina, and it figures they’d face the Hurricanes on Friday the 13th. Over the years, trying to win in that building has been a horror show for the Senators.
