Tkachuk scores twice for Senators in shootout win against Canadiens

OTTAWA -- Brady Tkachuk scored twice for the Ottawa Senators in a 5-4 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens at Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday.

"Credit to a lot of guys, but certainly Brady Tkachuk tonight," Senators coach D.J. Smith said. "He dragged us into that battle. I don't know if he's played a better game since I've been here."
Tim Stutzle and Josh Norris each scored on his first NHL shootout attempt for the Senators, who swept the two-game set. They defeated the Canadiens 3-2 in overtime here Sunday.
Drake Batherson had a goal and an assist for Ottawa (6-14-1). Matt Murray made 32 saves and didn't allow a goal in the shootout.
"That's got to be one of the crazier games I've been a part of," Tkachuk said. "Just a lot going on. I'm excited about how I'm going to feel tomorrow morning. A lot of the guys are going to be excited about how they feel tomorrow. We put the body on the line, everybody did, everybody sacrificed, and we got rewarded."
Shea Weber scored twice, Phillip Danault had two assists, and Carey Price made 35 saves for Montreal (9-5-4), which is 1-3-2 in its past six games.
"Obviously, that's not the result or the way I want to play," Price said. "It's a process I'm going to have to stick with and figure it out."

The Canadiens appeared to take a 5-4 lead on a goal by Ben Chiarot with 2.1 seconds remaining in the third period. The Senators challenged for goaltender interference, and the goal was nullified when video review ruled Brendan Gallagher interfered with Murray in the crease.
Batherson took a cross-ice pass from Derek Stepan and finished with a backhand deke to give the Senators a 1-0 lead at 1:36 of the first period. He has scored in three straight games and four of five.
Tkachuk's snap shot squeaked under Price's right arm on the power play to make it 2-0 at 9:57.
"We need to start games better," Gallagher said. "That's a given. You can't afford to fall down, but we got down 2-0 and we responded."
Weber's centering pass redirected off Ottawa defenseman Nikita Zaitsev's skate to cut it to 2-1 at 16:03.
Erik Brannstrom's point shot went five-hole on Price on the power play to make it 3-1 at 3:41 of the second. It was his first NHL goal in his 40th NHL game.
"I'm so happy for him," Erik Gudbranson, Brannstrom's defense partner, said. "That's a moment you never forget. He's been all over the net, he's been throwing [pucks] in, stuff that should've gone in, could've gone in. Seeing him score his first, it's such a great feeling."

Jonathan Drouin picked up a giveaway by Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot and scored five-hole on Murray to cut it to 3-2 at 4:52. It was Drouin's first goal in 12 games.
Weber scored with a slap shot from the point to tie it 3-3 at 10:06.
Tyler Toffoli deked Brannstrom at the blue line and scored with a wrist shot to make it 4-3 at 8:06 of the third. It was Toffoli's third goal in the past four games.
Tkachuk tied it 4-4 at 10:11 when his backhand trickled under Price's left pad.
"We're staying positive here," Danault said. "When you're winning, everything is easy, the vibe is good, everything is positive. When you're losing, you've got to get back to the way we were feeling in the beginning [of the season]. We've just got to stay positive around here. No need to panic."
NOTES:Stepan sustained an upper-body injury in the first period. There was no update. … Batherson set an NHL career high with 12 points this season. He scored 10 points in each of the past two seasons. … Tkachuk (21 years, 160 days) became the youngest player in Senators history to score 50 goals (Alexei Yashin, 21 years, 168 days). Tkachuk has scored 104 points (51 goals, 53 assists) in 163 games. … Chabot played a game-high 29:26 after missing two games with an upper-body injury.