Tkachuk scores with 13 seconds left, lifts Senators past Islanders

OTTAWA -- Brady Tkachuk broke a tie with 13 seconds left in the third period, and the Ottawa Senators defeated the New York Islanders 3-2 at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

Jordan Spence’s point shot went off Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech in front, and Tkachuk stuffed the loose puck over the pads of Ilya Sorokin.

“I’m more happy just (to get) the two points at the end of the day,” said Tkachuk, Ottawa’s captain. “I felt like I wasn’t great last night in a big game, and I just know I needed to be a lot better today to help this team.” 

Said Ottawa coach Travis Green: “It was awesome. It was a (heck) of a game, felt like a playoff game. I loved how our team came to play tonight.”

Shane Pinto scored short-handed, and Warren Foegele also scored for the Senators (35-24-9), who have won three of their past four games and are 12-3-2 in their past 17. James Reimer made 17 saves.

“Especially with the start early on, it was, I think as a goalie you've got to stay in the moment and stay even-keeled," Reimer said, "but it was hard because you’re excited, especially when a team comes with that much emotion and passion."

The Senators, who lost 4-1 to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, remained five points behind the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference wild-card race.

“Great win,” Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot said. “We stuck with it. We played right back to our identity. We didn’t like our game in Washington, and we felt like we still could have won that game, so we wanted to bounce back here tonight.” 

Matthew Schaefer scored to reach 50 points in his rookie season for the Islanders (39-25-5), who had won their previous two games. Brayden Schenn scored for the second straight game, and Sorokin made 23 saves.

“Points are crucial this time of year,” Schenn said. “Definitely frustrating, but at the end of the day, there’s no sense looking at it and feeling sorry for yourself. You have to turn the page and move on.”

For the first time since Dec. 4, the Islanders are outside of a playoff position. They are one point behind the Red Wings and Bruins. They're also tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are third in the Metropolitan Division, with New York having played one more game.

“We’re not happy that we lost the game in the last what, 11 seconds,” New York coach Patrick Roy said. “But we’re going to regroup and be ready for the Montreal game (on Saturday). That’s all it is. The way the standings is so close, so tight, it is very important to remain bold and focus on what we have to do, the job we need to do.”

The Senators nearly opened the scoring at 17:50 of the first period, but a sprawling save by defenseman Carson Soucy in the crease denied Chabot on an open-net chance.

Schaefer gave New York a 1-0 lead at 4:45 of the second period on a point shot following a face-off win by Bo Horvat. 

The defenseman, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, has 21 goals and 29 points to become the second 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history to record 50 points in a season (Phil Housley, 57 in 1982-83).

Pinto tied it 1-1 with a short-handed goal at 10:27. He took a bank pass from Tyler Kleven at center ice to create a 2-on-1 with Claude Giroux, kept the puck, and beat Sorokin with a wrist shot.

“You could look at everybody on this team, everybody had a statement game, everybody played great,” Tkachuk said. “Through the highs and lows of the game, I thought we handled it well.”

Schenn restored the Islanders’ lead to 2-1 at 2:02 of the third period. Schenn carried the puck into the zone and dropped it back to Simon Holmstrom, who returned a no-look pass to Schenn at the right face-off dot.

“They had some good O-zone time, and by the time we got it out, we had to do a change,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “And when you’re surviving a little bit, they’re coming right back at you, and we just didn’t break it as much as we needed to.” 

Foegele tied it 2-2 at 5:12. Fabian Zetterlund put a shot on net from the point that led to a scramble in front, where Foegele tipped the puck past Sorokin on the backhand.

“Everyone might not have played perfect, but they were ready to play,” Green said. “… There’s certain games throughout the year that you can say I’m proud of your team, and this was one of them.”

The Senators outshot the Islanders 11-1 in the third period. 

“We were just relentless," Reimer said. "I think that’s one of the best back end of a back-to-back games that I’ve seen a team play.” 

NOTES: Schaefer is two goals away from tying the NHL record by a rookie defenseman. Brian Leetch scored 23 in 1988-89. … Schaefer is the fourth Islanders rookie defenseman to record 50 points in a season. … Schaefer became the fourth active defenseman to hit 50 career points before his 70th game, following Cale Makar (57), Lane Hutson (63) and Quinn Hughes (64).