Sens chase Swayman, beat Bruins 6-3

The Sens' winning streak is now at five games, and the playoffs are looking more and more likely. It was a big night for Drake Batherson, who finished with 2 goals and 1 assist, propelling the Sens to a big 6–3 win and possibly dashing what was left of thr Bruins' playoff hopes. ​Pinto, Kleven, and Greig also scored for the Sens, while Linus Ullmark made 22 saves. The Sens dominated the first, and that ended up being enough to hang around and get the big victory.

The Sens came in on a four-game win streak, while the Bruins had won both their games since trading away former captain Brad Marchand at the trade deadline (maybe he was the problem?). The Sens looked like they came in on a mission. They were hard on pucks and quick to shoot. They got the first six shots of the game, not letting the Bs get a shot of their own until after the first commercial break. They were rewarded with the first two goals of the game, the first from Shane Pinto, on a goal that was created entirely by Michael Amadio screening Jeremy Swayman.

This came moments after TSN told us that Shane Pinto had been pacing the Sens with 14 goals since December 13th, one more than Brady Tkachuk, so Pinner apparently heard them and extended his lead. The second was Tyler Kleven's second goal in two games (and fourth of his career), this time a beauty slapshot on a backboards ricochet.

That goal shockingly gave Nikolas Matinpalo his first NHL point. The Bruins got one back when Casey Mittelstadt got to a pass in front before Thomas Chabot and tipped it over a helpless Linus Ullmark, but the Sens would go right back to dominating. First, after Tim Stützle drew an interference penalty, Drake Batherson was the beneficiary of some extensive pressure on the powerplay, burying a beautiful cross-ice pass.

The acquisition of Dylan Cozens seems to have energized Drake Batherson, as the two have been throwing the body on everything that moves. This game was no different, with Batherson having 3 hits (as well as a goal and an assist) in the first period alone. Before they could even announce the goal, Ridly Greig got on the board, sneaking in from behind the net to grab and bury a rebound.

It was the kind of dominance you wanted to see the Sens put up in pushing for a playoff spot, outshooting Boston 15–4, outscoring them 4–1, and drawing two powerplays to Boston's zero.

The second period opened with Joonas Korpisalo replacing Swayman in net. The Sens also slowed their pace from the first period, and this saw noted Sens killer David Pastrnak get on the board, tipping in a point shot from John Beecher (a real guy). The Sens did continue to be better though, and after Korpisalo arguably got lucky on one extended offensive zone shift, he pulled a vintage Korpi, being unable to track the puck and allowing Batherson to get his own rebound from behind the net and tuck it in before he'd even found the puck.

The 3-goal lead was short-lived though, because Marat Khusnutdinov (another real guy) got in on a breakaway and scored despite being hooked to the point that a penalty would've been called if he hadn't scored. The Sens killed off the Bruins' first powerplay of the game, and then Linus Ullmark made an enormous save with 90 seconds left. Seriously, you'll want to watch this one a dozen times.

The third period saw both teams get good chances, but Boston looked a little more desperate and Ottawa seemed happy to let them claw their way back into the game. Thankfully, Ullmark was up to the task. The Bruins pulled their goalie with 4 minutes left, but never really got anything going, and finally Claude Giroux iced it with the empty-netter, though not before Ullmark went for the second goal of his career but put it a few feet wide. The final score was 6–3, and the winning streak is now five games. The fans ended the game chanting "We want playoffs". Next game is Saturday evening in Toronto. The playoff spot is the Sens' to lose now.

Game Thoughts:

• Drake Batherson was the team's best player tonight. He looks so engaged. Whether it's due to Cozens showing up or his mom being in town, this is the Drake we need.
• Tyler Kleven looks confident. Amazing what scoring goals will do for your game.
• Linus Ullmark didn't have much chance on the first three goals, but he also made several amazing saves as the game went on. He ended up doing his part in this one. It's too bad the Sens couldn't keep up the first period energy for the whole game, so they needed Linus to be on.
• Pastrnak is really dangerous, but he also looks like he thinks he needs to do it all himself. He regularly took on 2 or 3 Sens defenders himself. Not trusting your teammates is not a great recipe for success, but also, I can't really blame him.​
• The Sens crowd is the loudest they've been in many years. I love hearing it.

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