OTT@MTL: Anisimov sets up Dadonov's second goal

MONTREAL -- Evgenii Dadonov scored twice for the Ottawa Senators in a 6-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Artem Anisimov had three assists, and Anton Forsberg made 35 saves for Ottawa (13-21-4), which lost 4-1 to Montreal on Thursday.
"We didn't like the way we played Thursday, so we challenged ourselves internally to bring our A-game, and I think that's what we did," Senators forward Brady Tkachuk said.

OTT@MTL: Tkachuk strikes early with PPG in the 1st

Josh Anderson scored twice for Montreal (16-9-9), which had won three straight and was 4-0-2 in its prior six games.
"It was a bad night," Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme said. "We didn't execute well, we didn't play well without the puck, we didn't do well in puck battles, we weren't good."
Carey Price made 26 saves, and Nick Suzuki and Shea Weber each had two assists for the Canadiens, who also had a three-game winning streak from Jan. 21-28.
Defenseman Jeff Petry was minus-5 for the first time in 714 NHL games with Montreal and the Edmonton Oilers.
"They came out harder and we didn't match their intensity the way we did in Ottawa," Petry said. "And I thought they were on us quick, and I don't think we made the best reads."
Dadonov ended an eight-game goal drought when he deflected Thomas Chabot's long wrist shot at 7:49 of the second period to put the Senators up 3-2.
Dadonov made it 4-2 at 16:02. He was left unchecked in the slot to take Artem Anisimov's backhand pass from behind the net and scored on a wrist shot.

OTT@MTL: Dadonov tips in shot for 3-2 lead in the 2nd

Anderson drew Montreal within 4-3 at 18:48 with his second of the game.
Alex Formenton made it 5-3 at 2:55 of the third period when he redirected a shot from Anisimov, who missed the previous eight games because of an upper-body injury.
"When you're injured and you're watching games, you try to find the weak spots on the other team because we only play against Canadian teams this year," Anisimov said. "And you try to figure out what to do on the ice when you're watching the game play from upstairs, and when you're on the ice you try to do those things on the ice."
Drake Batherson scored into an empty net to make it 6-3 at 17:05.
"I thought we played hard and well," Forsberg said. "We were playing a team game out there and threw pucks at the net and scored a lot of goals, which is always nice as a goalie."
Ottawa took a 1-0 lead on Tkachuk's power-play goal 42 seconds into the first period.
Tyler Toffoli tied it at 1-1 with his Canadiens-leading 19th goal on a power play at 5:31 in his first game since March 19. He missed three games because of a lower-body injury.
Connor Brown's shorthanded goal at 12:07 put the Senators up 2-1. Anderson tied it 2-2 at 6:58.
NOTES: Senators forward Colin White did not play and will not face the Winnipeg Jets on Monday because of an upper-body injury. … Forsberg made his second start since he was claimed on waivers from the Winnipeg Jets on March 17. It was his second NHL win since 2017-18 and his first since March 7, 2020, his only one in three games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season. … The Canadiens have the day off Sunday. Eric Staal will skate at their practice facility in Brossard, Quebec. The 36-year-old forward completed a seven-day quarantine after he was acquired in a March 26 trade with the Buffalo Sabres. He is expected to take part in the morning skate Monday and make his Montreal debut against the Edmonton Oilers.