Demidov breaks tie in 3rd, Canadiens rally past Senators for 3rd straight win

OTTAWA -- Ivan Demidov scored the go-ahead goal at 12:40 of the third period and had an assist, and the Montreal Canadiens rallied for their third straight win, 3-2 against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday.

Demidov put Montreal up 3-2 when he buried the rebound off Alex Newhook's shot from the right face-off circle as he crashed the crease.

“It’s good to come up with one there,” Newhook said. “At times we were getting a little frustrated with not being able to produce as much as we’d like, not creating as much high danger probably as we can night in and night out, but to find a way to get a goal at the end is big for the team.” 

Juraj Slafkovsky and Alexandre Texier each scored for the Canadiens (36-18-10), who are 8-1-3 in their past 12 games, including a 3-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

“It felt a bit like a playoff game,” Newhook said. “Not a ton being generated. Pretty good defensively, I think on both sides of the puck from both teams, but yeah, finding a way there is huge.”

Jacob Fowler, who was making his first start since Jan. 15 after being recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League earlier in the day, made 32 saves.

“It was busy, but I think the first experience had me a little bit more ready for this,” Fowler said. “I think before it was a little bit more, a lot of new stuff. Here, it was just kind of rejoining the team I felt I was a part of. Super happy to be part of this team and great win for the group.”

Drake Batherson scored twice, and Tim Stutzle had two assists to extend his point streak to 14 games (19 points; eight goals, 11 assists) for the Senators (32-23-9), who had their seven-game point streak end (5-0-2). Linus Ullmark made 20 saves.

“It was a good game,” Batherson said. “Fun game to play in, atmosphere was great. Came close a few times, obviously, breakaway saves, the other big save. But thought we played solid again, honestly. It was a tough travel day yesterday, going right back into the game today. And I thought we did pretty well.”

Slafkovsky gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 1:16. Nick Suzuki sent a pass from the left boards to Demidov at the edge of the right circle. Demidov then waited out a diving Stutzle in the slot and fed a pass to Slafkovsky for a backdoor tap-in.

“It’s always an emotional game playing here,” Montreal forward Jake Evans said. “We knew how big of a game it was, and we just stuck together and believed in each other and knew if we kept it tight and played smart, we would get some chances.” 

Batherson tied it 1-1 while on the power play at 16:42 when Brady Tkachuk's pass deflected in off his skate at the left side of the crease. The play was reviewed to see if the puck completely crossed the goal line, but the call on the ice stood as a good goal. Stutzle had the secondary assist to extend his point streak, tying the career high he set from Jan. 25 - March 8, 2025.

Batherson put Ottawa ahead 2-1 with his second goal at 18:41. Claude Giroux knocked down Alexandre Carrier's clearing attempt along the left boards and passed to Batherson as he powered to the net. The puck came loose and Stutzle's shot at the right post hit Batherson's stick before going in.

“We have to,” Stutzle said when asked if they flush this game. “We know it was a big game. Did we play our best? Probably not. Should we have got a point? Probably. So tough one there, gotta move on.” 

Texier tied it 2-2 at 17:29 of the second period with a wraparound at the right post that went in off the right pad of Ullmark. He was in the lineup in place of Cole Caufield, who did not play after leaving the game on Tuesday because of an illness.

“It’s obviously a four-point game,” Batherson said. “We’re trying to chase them right now, but we weren’t going to win every game from here on out. Definitely would have liked to beat those guys, but that’s the way it goes.”

Ottawa coach Travis Green said: “We don’t get to pick and choose the ones that we win. We’re gonna lose another game before the end of the year, too. So we don’t sit there and say we have to beat Montreal, and we can afford to lose against Calgary. We played a real good game tonight, coming off a long road trip, and we just gotta worry about ourselves. 

The Senators outshot the Canadiens 13-5 in the third period, but Fowler made multiple saves in the final moments of the game to preserve the one-goal lead.

“It was pretty hectic,” Fowler said. “A couple plays there that our guys on the ice were pretty gassed, and a lot of huge blocks there down the stretch, the last few minutes there. A lot of guys doing a lot of hard things there to get a win, and that’s what it takes this time of year.” 

Newhook said, “We know what he’s capable of. Some of those saves he made late in the game there, it’s a big reason why we won the game tonight.”

NOTES: Slafkovsky (164) passed Henri Richard (163) for the most points in franchise history by a player before age 22. ... Demidov became the NHL’s second rookie to reach the 50-point mark this season, joining Beckett Sennecke (51). ... Montreal’s nine-game winning streak against Canadian teams marked the third-longest in franchise history behind Oct. 21, 1972 – March 21, 1973 (11-0-0) and Dec. 29, 1987 – March 16, 1988 (10-0-0). ... Tkachuk extended his point streak to eight games (three goals, five assists)