The Ottawa Senators extended their winning streak to five games with a 6-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, strengthening their position atop the Eastern Conference wild-card race.
Drake Batherson broke out of a 10-game scoring slump with two goals and an assist to lead the Senators’ offensive attack.
“It feels great to contribute again,” Batherson said. “The team’s rolling right now and everyone’s chipping in.”
Shane Pinto, Tyler Kleven, Ridly Greig and Claude Giroux also scored for Ottawa, which now holds a five-point advantage over Columbus for the first wild-card position.
Linus Ullmark stopped 22 shots to earn the win.
The Senators jumped on Boston early, scoring four times in the opening period and chasing Bruins starter Jeremy Swayman after he allowed four goals on just 15 shots. Joonas Korpisalo took over for the final two periods and made 14 saves.
David Pastrnak scored his 34th goal of the season for Boston, while Casey Mittelstadt and Marat Khusnutdinov added the other Bruins goals.
Brady Tkachuk extended his points streak to eight games with an assist on Batherson’s first goal.
The game marked a milestone for Ottawa’s Travis Green, who coached his 400th NHL game.
Both teams return to action Saturday night. The Bruins host Tampa Bay, while the Senators travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs.
