Senators put on offensive show in sold-out home opener
The Ottawa Senators provided plenty of entertainment in their home opener Tuesday night with a 7-5 win over the Boston Bruins.
Mark Kastelic's first of the season in the second period held up as the winner, but the fun started before the puck even dropped.
Things got underway with former Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson on hand for the ceremonial puck drop sending the sellout crowd into a frenzy and the noise grew as the newly acquired Claude Giroux, who calls Ottawa home, opened the scoring in the opening minutes of the game.
All four lines contributed for the Senators. Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle each had a goal and two assists. Shane Pinto and Artem Zub also scored for Ottawa (1-2-0).
Coming into the home opener, Ottawa had only scored three goals through its first two games. Anton Forsberg stopped 26 shots.
David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron led the way for the Bruins (3-1-0) with a goal and two assists each. David Krejci, Nick Foligno and A.J. Greer also scored. Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves.
Leading 6-5, Zub added some security midway through the third when he picked up his own rebound earning a deafening ovation from the 19, 811 on hand.
Krejci and Greer scored in a span of 62 seconds to tie the game 3-3 by the two-minute mark of the second period.
Ottawa went on to score three goals to make it 6-3. Pinto made the most of a two-on-one to have a wide-open net. The Senators then took advantage of some poor defensive coverage by the Bruins with Stutzle picking up his first of the season when he was left alone out front. Anton Stralman then had a brutal giveaway behind his net allowing Austin Watson to feed Kastelic out front.
But the Bruins came back with another pair of goals to make it 6-5 by the end of the period. Foligno buried a rebound by crashing to the net and with 14.5 seconds remaining in the period Pastrnak connected for a power-play goal.
Ottawa couldn't have asked for a better start. Giroux scored his first with the Senators in the opening minutes of the game and two minutes later Stutzle fed a cross-ice pass to Tkachuk for his second of the season.
Batherson had a goal called back midway through the period due to goaltender interference, but got it back a couple minutes later when Tkachuk found him out front.
Bergeron banged in a Pastrnak rebound to make it 3-1 late in the first period.
INTERESTING FACT
Tuesday's opener marked the Senators debut for five new players, but for Claude Giroux, who signed as a free agent, it was a homecoming of sorts as the 34-year-old spent part of his adolescence in Ottawa and returns here each summer.
NOTES
The Senators made one change to their lineup Tuesday as Nick Holden replaced Nikita Zaitsev. Boston's Anton Stralman made his season debut Tuesday. The defenceman is still dealing with visa issues in the United States, but they were not a factor for him playing in Canada.
UP NEXT
The Senators have Wednesday off before hosting the Washington Capitals on Thursday in the second of a five-game homestand. Boston will return home and host the Anaheim Ducks Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates: 'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Milton brings high winds, destructive waves
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
Poilievre supports Israel 'proactively striking' Iranian nuclear sites to defend itself
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is supporting Israel's right to defend itself against Iran following last week's ballistic missile attack, saying that right includes 'proactively striking Iranian nuclear sites and oil installations to defund the terrorist regime.'
How is Canada protecting customers buying from foreign e-commerce sites like Temu and Shein?
As U.S. regulators push for an investigation into what they call 'deadly baby and toddler products' from foreign e-commerce sites, health officials in Canada say they haven't determined whether any laws or regulations have been broken.
Most fathers say they spend equal time caring for their child — fewer mothers agree, survey says
When it comes to raising a child, the majority of fathers say they share tasks equally, but fewer mothers tend to say the same thing, according to a Statistics Canada survey.
'Selfish billionaire': Chip Wilson's mansion vandalized after political sign erected outside
Days after a political sign was erected outside Lululemon founder Chip Wilson's Vancouver mansion, the waterfront property has been vandalized with graffiti.
'Feel free to get naked,' witness testifies Toronto councillor told her during 'networking' weekend
Toronto Coun. Michael Thompson 'forced himself on' a woman who awoke to find him standing over her after she fell asleep drunk, the Crown alleged Monday, as the five-day sexual assault trial of the six-term politician began in Bracebridge, Ont.
Is Disney World still open as Hurricane Milton strengthens to a Category 5?
Despite Hurricane Milton evolving into a Category 5 storm, Walt Disney World Resort remains open to the public and will operate as normal. However, the park announced Monday a few closures in an abundance of caution.
Disgraced former Winnipeg football coach sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexual assault
A disgraced Winnipeg high school football coach convicted of sexual assault and luring will spend 20 years behind bars.
Two people injured in apparent road rage incident, shooting in Toronto
Two people are in hospital after they were chased and shot at in what appears to be an act of road rage before eventually flipping their car while trying to escape, police say.