Batherson hat trick leads Senators past Rangers 7-4

OTTAWA – Drake Batherson scored three times, including an empty-net goal in the final minute, to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 7-4 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre.

Batherson scored at 5:34 of the first period, at 1:47 of the second and at 19:48 of the third, according to the game’s play-by-play as published by ESPN and CBS Sports. Tim Stutzle, Dylan Cozens, Jake Sanderson and Michael Amadio also scored for Ottawa, which led 3-0 early in the second period.

Stutzle made it 2-0 at 6:40 of the first on a wrist shot, set up by Fabian Zetterlund and Claude Giroux. Cozens, who scored his first goal of the season at 11:21 of the second, deflected a shot to restore a four-goal lead after the Rangers had begun to respond.

New York scored three times in a span of 9:27 in the second period to pull within a goal. Will Cuylle scored short-handed at 10:07, J.T. Miller followed at 12:54 and Alexis Lafrenière scored at 19:34, which made it 4-3 for Ottawa after two periods.

Sanderson, who scored his first goal of the season, restored a two-goal lead at 13:38 of the third with a backhand, assisted by Ridly Greig and Amadio. Pavel Dorofeyev cut it to 5-4 at 15:32, but Amadio scored into an empty net at 18:47 and Batherson completed his hat trick into another empty net.

Jonas Johansson made 23 saves on 27 shots for the Senators, CBS Sports reported. Dylan Garand stopped 18 of 23 for the Rangers, who outshot Ottawa 27-25.

The win came after an earlier loss in which the Sharks beat the Senators 6-2 behind a 41-save night from Yaroslav Askarov. Ottawa’s Saturday night result was one of several Canadian-team games that drew heavy searches, along with the Maple Leafs’ 7-2 win in Edmonton.

File photo of Drake Batherson (right), not from Saturday’s game: Jan. 4, 2024, in Seattle. Photo by Jenn G, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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