Senators stop Oilers, end four-game skid
OTTAWA -- Tom Pyatt's second-period goal stood as the winner, and the Ottawa Senators snapped a four-game winless drought by defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Sunday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
Mark Stone led the way for Ottawa with a goal and two assists, while Mike Hoffman, Zack Smith and Kyle Turris had the other Ottawa goals. Smith and Turris each added an assist.
Turris' 14th of the season was the only goal of the third period, and it came with Oilers goalie Jonas Gustavsson on the bench for an extra attacker.
Gustavsson made just 13 saves for the Oilers, while Mike Condon made 35 in the Ottawa net.
Patrick Maroon scored twice for the Oilers, and Leon Draisaitl added the other.
The Senators held a 2-0 lead after one period before the teams erupted for five goals in the second, leaving Ottawa with a 4-3 heading into the final 20 minutes.
Smith opened the scoring at 3:36 of the first period, taking a pass in the slot from Mark Stone and beating Gustavsson as the Oilers goalie was falling out of position. The goal was the eighth of the season for Smith.
The Senators went up by a pair on the power play at 14:53 of the first with Hoffman, set up in the right wing circle, one-timing a pass from Stone, who was stationed behind the goal line. It was his 11th of the season.
Maroon evened the count with goals 63 seconds apart in the middle period, starting with his fifth of the season at the 5:58 mark. With the puck on an odd-man rush, Maroon elected to shoot, finding a hole between Condon's legs.
His second goal came just moments after Connor McDavid missed the net on a clear breakaway. McDavid then fetched the puck for Maroon, who fired a shot from the left wing circle that went in off Senators defenseman Cody Ceci and into the net.
Draisaitl put Edmonton in front with his 15th goal after taking a McDavid pass and banking a shot in off Condon from behind the net at the 12:59 mark. But Stone pulled the Senators back on even terms 34 second later when he accepted a Derick Brassard pass and beat Gustavsson with a low shot to the glove side for his 12th of the campaign.
Pyatt put the Senators ahead again when he relayed a pass from Ceci between Gustavsson's pads at 18:14 for his fifth of the season.
NOTES: Senators RW Bobby Ryan returned to the lineup after sitting out Saturday against the Capitals for reasons that coach Guy Boucher did not reveal. ... Senators D Fredrik Claesson returned to the press box as a healthy scratch. Claesson played against the Capitals on Saturday in just his second game since Nov. 13. ... Oilers RW Jesse Puljujarvi was scratched for the second game in a row and 14th time this season. ... Oilers D Brandon Davidson was scratched for the third game in a row.