Stutzle scores three points, Senators defeat Canadiens to end skid

MONTREAL --
Tim Stutzle
scored a goal for the third straight game and had his first two NHL assists, and the Ottawa Senators won for the first time in 10 games, 3-2 against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.

Thomas Chabot had a goal and an assist, and Matt Murray made 36 saves for the Senators (2-8-1), who had not won since their season opener Jan. 15.
"I think everybody worked so hard for that today," Stutzle said. "And everybody really wanted to win tonight against a very, very good team and first in our division. So it was a very important game today, and everybody played a great game."
It was Ottawa's seventh straight road game.
"I came into this game wanting to get a win and get off this skid we were on," Murray said. "I just felt like as a team, the way these games have been going for us, it's really frustrating and it's not a lack of effort. We're trying our best every night. It just seemed like we were fighting against everything. It felt good to get off that streak, and this will propel us in the right direction."
Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson scored, and Carey Price made 19 saves for the Canadiens (7-2-2), who swept back-to-back games against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and Tuesday.

"They played a lot better than us," Montreal forward Nick Suzuki said. "They were hard on the forecheck, and it didn't look like we were prepared for that. I struggled breaking out of our zone and through the neutral zone, and they did a pretty good job of forechecking us. So as a team it's got to be a lot better Saturday."
The Senators and Canadiens are scheduled to play at Ottawa on Saturday.
Gallagher gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 10:31 of the first period when he scored on the rebound of a Tomas Tatar shot.
Chabot scored the first of two Ottawa goals in 18 seconds to tie it 1-1 at 19:21. Stutzle got his first NHL assist in his eighth game with a stretch pass to Chris Tierney, who turned at the top of the right face-off circle to drop the puck to Chabot for a quick wrist shot.

"He's going to have a long career," Chabot said of Stutzle. "He's going to be a great player in this league, that's for sure. Whether it's on that play or any other plays that he's been making so far this season, he's just special. He sees the ice differently than everybody else. He's got high-end skills."
Stutzle gave the Senators a 2-1 lead with his fourth goal, on the power play, at 19:39, scoring with a wrist shot from the left circle. It was the first multipoint game in the NHL for the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Stutzle got his second assist when Connor Brown scored to make it 3-1 at 8:12 of the second period. After Stutzle won a face-off, defenseman Erik Brannstrom took a wrist shot from the left point that Brown deflected down and past Price inside the left post. It was Brannstrom's season debut.
"With every shift, every game I play, I get more confidence to make plays," Stutzle said. "And right now, after the win, it's definitely a great feeling."
Price was racing to the bench for an extra attacker when Anderson scored shorthanded to make it 3-2 at 18:31 of the third period. It was Montreal's NHL-leading seventh shorthanded goal.
"They definitely played pretty solid for the first two periods," Price said. "I just thought it took us a little while to get our legs under us. We carried the majority of the play in the third and we just came up a little bit short."