Despite a hard-fought battle and a close finish, the Senators were unable to come back against the Vegas Golden Knights as they dropped their fourth straight when they fell by a score of 3-2. Forwards Adam Gaudette and Drake Batherson both scored for the Senators, while goaltender Linus Ullmark stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced.
It was the Golden Knights who struck first, as goaltender Linus Ullmark made a highlight reel diving save on Ivan Barbashev, but Jack Eichel was on the doorstep to pick up the rebound for his sixth goal of the year. The goal put the Golden Knights up 1-0 at 6:45 into the first period.
Strong saves by both goaltenders saw the rest of the first period remain scoreless, as the Senators headed into the first intermission trailing 1-0.
After a scoreless first half to the second period, the Golden Knights doubled their lead to 2-0 at 10:49 into the second when forward Brett Howden scored his second of the season.
The Senators were unable to find the back of the net in the remaining nine minutes of the second period, but so were the Golden Knights — in part thanks to several impressive saves from Linus Ullmark to keep Vegas at bay.
With just 0:02 seconds left in a powerplay, the Senators got back within one when forward Adam Gaudette scored his eighth of the season past goaltender Ilya Samsonov on a one-timer at 7:16 into the third. Forward Ridly Greig picked up the primary assist on Gaudette’s goal with an impressive pass, while Claude Giroux got the secondary assist. Gaudette’s goal closed the Golden Knights’ lead to 2-1 with over half the period to play.
The Golden Knights struck back at as forward Pavel Dorofeyev scored his 10th of the season to help Vegas regain their two-goal lead at 9:17 into the third period.
With 7:22 left to play, forward Drake Batherson picked up his eighth goal of the season to get the Senators back within one at 3-2. Defenceman Jake Sanderson and forward Tim Stützle both received assists on Batherson’s goal.
The tail end of the third period saw the Senators push for an equalizer as they pulled the goaltender for nearly two minutes of 6-on-5 play but came up short as they were unable to find the back of the net.
“We just need to keep working, keep believing in each other. You can’t get down,” spoke forward Drake Batherson following tonight’s game. “Just come to the rink positive and work hard.”
The Senators will return to the ice at home in their next game on Saturday, as they take on the Vancouver Canucks for the first time this season. The first 10,000 fans in attendance at the game will receive their very own limited-edition Thomas Chabot bobblehead, presented by Canadian Tire. Puck drop for Saturday’s game is at 7:00 p.m. and tickets can be found HERE.
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