OTTAWA — Anthony Duclair had two goals and an assist as the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 Monday night.
It was the Senators’ (13-17-1) first win over the Bruins (20-5-6) since April 6, 2017.
Chris Tierney, Artem Anisimov and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored for the Senators, who were playing their first home game since returning from a five-game road trip (1-4-0).
Anders Nilsson’s 38 saves were a key factor in the win.
Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk scored for the Bruins, who were playing the first of four road games. Tuukka Rask made 23 saves in his first loss in regulation since Nov. 8.
Leading 3-1 to start the third the Senators did a good job of containing the Bruins, who were pressing to close the gap.
With the Bruins on the power play, Rask was pulled for a 6 on 4 advantage, but Pageau was able to pick off a pass and break in for an empty-net goal to seal the win with just under three minutes remaining.
DeBrusk scored a power-play goal 43 seconds later during a scramble in front of Nilsson, but that was as close as the Bruins got as Duclair added another empty-net goal.
Ottawa made it a two-goal game early in the second as Vladislav Namestnikov intercepted Rask’s pass from behind the net and found Tierney, who took advantage to bury his fourth of the season.
Boston failed to capitalize on three power-play opportunities in the second, with Nilsson deserving much of the credit after making some big saves.
The Senators held a 2-1 lead after the first 20 minutes.
Ottawa opened the scoring 1:35 into the game when Dylan DeMelo made a stretch pass to Anisimov, who broke through the defence and sent a backhander over Rask’s shoulder.
Duclair, with his 14th of the season, made it 2-0 as he took a Tierney pass in the slot to beat Rask glove side.
The Bruins cut the lead in half as Bergeron, who was making his return after missing the last seven games with a lower-body injury, took a cross ice pass from David Pastrnak and scored into a wide-open net.
Notes
The Senators will be without goalie Craig Anderson for at least a week. He tweaked his knee Dec. 7.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec.9, 2019.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press