Shane Pinto had the kind of night that turns a tight game into a statement win, scoring twice and finishing it off in overtime as the Ottawa Senators edged the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre.
Ottawa got out in front early and had to keep answering after Colorado kept pushing back. Pinto started the scoring at 7:11 of the first period, and Tim Stützle doubled the lead at 13:13. From there, the game kept swinging.
Colorado cut into it on Artturi Lehkonen’s power-play goal at 18:04 of the second period, then Parker Kelly restored the balance with a short-handed goal at 3:54 of the third. The Avalanche grabbed their first lead when Gabriel Landeskog scored on the power play at 10:03, but Drake Batherson answered for Ottawa at 16:04 to force overtime.
Pinto ended it 2:08 into the extra period, giving the Senators the final edge in a game that stayed tight all the way through.
Pinto finished with two goals and an assist, none had three assists, Stützle and Batherson also scored, and Linus Ullmark made 26 saves on 29 shots. For Colorado, Lehkonen, Kelly and Landeskog each found the net, while Scott Wedgewood stopped 22 of 26 shots.
The Avalanche held a 29-26 edge in shots, but Ottawa still came away with the win despite going 0 for 5 on the power play. Colorado finished 2 for 5 with the man advantage.
With the result, Ottawa moved to 12-6-2 and remained sixth in the Eastern Conference. Colorado dropped to 11-6-3 and stayed fourth in the Western Conference.
The Senators visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Avalanche head to the Montreal Canadiens on the same night at 7:00 p.m. ET.
In Other News...
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Senators Need Linus Ullmark Now More Than Ever
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For a team leaning on depth and resilience, the timing could hardly be more important with Linus Ullmark returning to the crease. Ottawa has needed steady goaltending to survive the attrition, and now it gets a chance to see whether its No. 1 can help stabilize things as the injuries continue to pile up around him. [Read more 🡒]