Senators hang on, send Canadiens to eighth loss in row

OTTAWA --
Mark Kastelic
scored his first two NHL goals for the Ottawa Senators in a 6-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

"That was so much fun," Kastelic said. "Probably the most memorable game of my career and super exciting to do it with the guys in that room. They're so supportive and it's just a fun atmosphere to be in."
Alex Formenton tied the NHL lead with his fifth shorthanded goal, and Anton Forsberg made 44 saves for Ottawa (31-41-7), which has won three straight.
"It was a long game, and wild," Senators coach D.J. Smith said. "There wasn't a ton of structure either way, but credit to our guys. … We found a way to win. We weren't as sharp as we've been, but there was a lot of emotion, and it was a fun game."
Rem Pitlick scored twice, and Carey Price made 20 saves for Montreal (20-48-11), which has lost eight in a row.
"It [stinks] to lose," Pitlick said. "I think that as a team, and as an athlete, there is that fire and frustration when you lose. Like, we're [ticked] off. But we're just going to keep working. There's nothing you can do other than trying to keep getting better and hopefully it bounces in your favor."

Kastelic, playing in his 13th NHL game, gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 2:33 of the first period when his shot from the right half wall beat Price short side.
Pitlick tied it 1-1 at 15:57, taking a centering pass from Jake Evans and scoring blocker side on Forsberg.
Austin Watson made it 2-1 at 44 seconds into the second period when he tipped a Nick Holden point shot.
The Senators scored three goals in 1:07 to extend their lead to 5-1.
"We did a lot of good things, it's just that we lost the game in the second period," Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher said. "I don't know what it was. A few minutes stretch there where we couldn't keep the puck out of our net."
Parker Kelly scored at 6:43 with a wrist shot into the top left corner on a 2-on-1. Josh Norris scored at 7:15 when Brady Tkachuk's pass went in off his skate. Kastelic scored his second goal of the game at 7:50 with a backhand deke in tight.
"We don't win without him tonight," Smith said of Kastelic. "[He's] showing us every day that he wants to be a regular and it certainly looks like he's well on his way."
Cole Caufield cut it to 5-2 at 8:43 when he one-timed a cross-ice pass from Mike Hoffman on a 2-on-1. It was Caufield's 20th goal. After scoring one goal in his first 30 games, the rookie forward has 19 goals in his past 34 games.
"Obviously after the tough start, it feels pretty good to get to this number," Caufield said. "I think it's a good thing to build on for next year, as well."

Joel Edmundson made it 5-3 at 17:17 with a slap shot from the top of the slot during a delayed penalty 6-on-5.
Formenton scored on a shorthanded breakaway to make it 6-3 at 18:05. He is tied with Trevor Moore of the Los Angeles Kings with five for the NHL lead.
Pitlick cut it to 6-4 at 8:19 when he scored on a rebound in front.
NOTES: Before puck drop, the Senators honored Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur who died at age 70 on Friday. A sellout crowd of half Senators fans and half Canadiens fans chanted "Guy! Guy! Guy!" as a slideshow of pictures of Lafleur's career played on the big screen. The crowd stood for a moment of silence before the Canadian national anthem. … Caufield is the first Canadiens rookie to score 20 goals since Chris Higgins (23 in 2005-06). … Hoffman had a game-high eight shots. … Montreal and Ottawa combined to go 0-for-9 on the power play. … Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot had two shots and two hits in 20:21 of ice time in his first game since breaking his hand March 16.