Senators' Batherson scores winning goal to halt Predators' home point streak
Collects 2 points to pace offence along with Pinto while Talbot makes 27 saves
Drake Batherson scored a goal and assisted on another to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat also scored, Shane Pinto had a pair of assists and Cam Talbot made 27 saves for the Senators, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Yakov Trenin and Nino Niederreiter scored and Juuse Saros made 30 saves for Nashville, losers of two straight.
"It was nice that to see one go in obviously at that point in the game, just super fired up," Batherson said. "I lost an edge right before that and I was able to sneak behind the D and able to squeak one in. I'll take it."
Niederreiter's goal made it 3-2 with 9:45 remaining, but the Predators could not find the equalizer.
Trenin scored the game's first goal at 16:57 of the second period after Mark Jankowski jarred the puck loose just inside the Ottawa zone and found a trailing Trenin, who beat Talbot with a wrist shot on the far side.
"I think we were in total control for 40 minutes of the game, and then we made some mistakes, which we made consistently already," Trenin said. "Once we fix those, we going to be a better team."
WATCH | Batherson lifts Sens over Predators with breakaway goal:
Giroux sent the teams to the second intermission tied at 1 with a power-play goal with 7.5 seconds remaining. Nashville was shorthanded due to a too many men on the ice penalty, then Predators defenceman Jeremy Lauzon was jammed into the boards by Ottawa's Mark Kastelic. Lauzon skated directly to the Nashville bench, but a replacement was unable to get back into the play before Giroux swatted the puck home after a scramble in front.
"Give Kastelic a lot of credit there," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "He puts that guy into the boards. I think it's a clean play and he's standing on the goalie. He's giving us everything he's got."
DeBrincat was credited with giving Ottawa the lead at 3:55 of the third when he attempted to pass the puck to Batherson, but it deflected off of the stick of Predators defenceman Dante Fabbro and between Saros' pads.
"Yeah, those are always tough, but I think I got to find a way to get it out of there," Fabbro said. "Intercepted the pass and just off my stick."
Not-so friendly fire
Nashville played the third period with just four defencemen. Lauzon did not return for the third period, and Alexandre Carrier did not play after the five-minute mark of the second. He logged just 12 shifts in the game and 7:20 of ice time.
Predators coach John Hynes did not have an update on either player following the game.
Five minutes into the second period, there was a tense moment on the Ottawa bench when a frustrated Thomas Chabot tried to slam his stick against the glass between the benches. Unfortunately for fellow Senators defenceman Travis Hamonic, Chabot's stick caught him just under his left eye, causing him to fall backwards on the bench.
Hamonic was tended to by Ottawa's training staff and an apologetic Chabot, and remained on the bench and did not miss a shift.
Predators will visit the St. Louis Blues on Monday. Senators host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
