Senators ride three power-play goals to rout Ducks

Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, second from right, celebrates after scoring on Ducks goalie Anthony Stolarz on Nov. 25, 2022.

By Dan Greenspan

Associated Press

Nov. 25, 2022 Updated 4:22 PM PT

Derick Brassard and Mathieu Joseph each had a goal and two assists, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Ducks 5-1 on Friday afternoon at Honda Center.

Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle each had a power-play goal, helping the Senators (7-12-1) stop a three-game losing streak. Artem Zub also scored, Drake Batherson had two assists, and Cam Talbot made 31 saves.

“We had a really good effort today,” Tkachuk said. “Special teams came up big, PK was great [today], and power play, you know, showed up when we needed to. So, overall, it was a really fun experience.”

Max Jones scored for the Ducks (6-14-1) in the third period, and Anthony Stolarz made 28 saves. The Ducks followed their first regulation win of the season Wednesday night with an undisciplined effort, yielding eight power plays.

“You don’t want to take a penalty unless you’re going to save a goal,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “In the end, that game come down to special teams. Their power play got it done. Ours didn’t. Their penalty kill got it done. Ours didn’t.”

Ottawa took charge late in the first period.

Tkachuk opened the scoring on the power play, tucking his one-timer under the crossbar from the slot with 3:36 remaining. Brassard then made it 2-0 with 1:41 to go.

“From then on, it just felt like we played a really solid game, really mature game, and just followed the game plan to a ‘T,’ ” Tkachuk said. “So we have to build off that.”

Ducks coach Dallas Eakins looks up the scoreboard during the third period Nov. 25, 2022.

Ottawa needed just 14 seconds on the power play to take a 3-0 lead midway through the second period. Stutzle picked up his eighth goal of the season on a powerful wrist shot from the high slot.

Joseph got in on the fun with Ottawa’s third power-play goal on a chip over Stolarz while falling down at 6:49 of the third, but coach D.J. Smith was even more excited by the defensive performance. The Senators had given up at least four goals 10 times during a 2-10-1 slump coming into the matinee.

“Yeah, we scored on them, but you’re not going to score your way out of trouble,” Smith said. “You’re going to have to check your way out of trouble, and I thought we checked really hard.”

Almost there

Jones ruined what would have been Talbot’s fourth career shutout against the Ducks by scoring with 2:50 remaining. Though Talbot could not complete his first shutout of the season, he did run his record against the Ducks to 15-7-2 in 24 career games.

“Talbot was good wire to wire,” Smith said. “It’s unfortunate the shutout’s not his. He certainly deserved it.”

Welcome back

Defenseman Thomas Chabot had the secondary assist on Tkachuk’s goal in his return after missing five games because of a concussion. Chabot was hurt when he was checked into the boards from behind by Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny on Nov. 12.

Paired with Zub, who picked up the Senators’ fourth goal on a shot from the left circle through traffic with 5:06 left in the second, it was the first time in nearly a month Ottawa had its top defensemen on the ice together.

“Chabby has been a top defenseman in this league for, I don’t know how many years now, ever since I’ve been here,” Tkachuk said. “So to get him back, it definitely created a spark and energy for us.”

Worth noting

Ducks defenseman John Klingberg did not play because of a lower-body injury. He is day to day. ... Senators backup goalie Anton Forsberg has been ruled out for the rest of the road trip because of a lower-body injury.