For a long time on Friday night, it looked like the Ottawa Senators might be a big winner, but like so many before them, they’re leaving Las Vegas empty handed. The Knights exploded for three goals late in the third period to beat Ottawa 6-4.
The Sens held a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes and looked like they might be able to nurse that all the way home. But an ill-advised, easy-to-call interference penalty on Ottawa’s Nick Cousins started the Vegas comeback. With the extra man, Tomas Hertl completed a perfect passing play as Vegas tied the game with 3:11 to go.
60 seconds later, the Sens officially let both points get away when all three Sens forwards got caught deep. In the rush the other way, Keegan Kolesar beat Linus Ullmark with a wrist shot to win it. Vegas then added an empty netter to put it away.
Linus Ullmark was uneven in his return to the lineup with a couple of crucial saves and a couple he’d probably want back. He allowed five goals on 27 shots as the Senators outshot Vegas 39-28.
Adam Gaudette scored twice for the Senators. He was last year’s AHL goal scoring leader and the 2018 Hobey Baker winner. So it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise there’s quite a bit of skill in there that’s been waiting to get out in the NHL.
Gaudette’s last NHL goal was more than two and a half years ago in his first stint with the Sens, who brought him back this summer on a two-way deal. He was well-known to Sens head coach Travis Green who had him in Vancouver, where Gaudette had his best days in the league.
Ottawa’s other goal scorers were Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson. Cole Reinhardt got his first NHL point on a beautiful centering pass to Gaudette to open the scoring.
The Senators’ record slips to 4-3 and their next game, the final one on a three-game road trip, is in Colorado on Sunday night.
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