OTTAWA — Jean-Gabriel Pageau‘s third period goal led the New York Islanders to a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Brock Nelson, Noah Dobson and Oliver Wahlstrom also scored, as Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves for the Islanders (11-6-0).
The Senators, with just one victory in their last nine games, had been looking to build off a win against Philadelphia Saturday afternoon, but fell short.
Ottawa had its opportunities, but went 1-for-6 with the man advantage, scoring their lone power-play goal on a five-on-three.
Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux scored for the Senators (5-9-1), while Cam Talbot made 31 saves.
A rare 5:30 p.m. start for the Senators allowed fans to watch Daniel Alfredsson’s induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The early start made for a small crowd, but they showed their respect for Alfredsson, who has spent 17 seasons with the Senators, by chanting his name at 11:11 of each period.
The Islanders took a 1-0 lead on Wahlstrom’s power-play goal midway through the first period.
Ottawa managed to tie the game during a brief two-man advantage midway through the second period. Batherson one-timed a pass from Tim Stutzle to score his second goal in 11 games.
The Islanders regained the lead late in the period when Ottawa failed to clear the puck, and Dobson was able to pick it up inside the blue line. The Islanders defenceman fired a puck that then deflected off Ottawa’s Mark Kastelic and past Talbot.
Leading 2-1 to open the third it was a familiar foe who gave the Islanders a two-goal lead midway through the period. Pageau, a fan favourite during his time in Ottawa, picked up a rebound in front and scored a power-play goal to make it 3-1.
Giroux then scored to cut the lead to one, 3-2, at the 13-minute mark off a behind-the-back pass from Brady Tkachuk.
With Talbot pulled for the extra man Ottawa looked for the equalizer, but Nelson scored an empty net goal to seal the victory.
INTERESTING FACT OR STAT
Claude Giroux is on a nine-game point streak (6G, 7A). Giroux has more points against the Islanders than any other opponent, with 24 goals and 46 assists in 65 games.
NOTES
With Thomas Chabot sidelined with a concussion the Senators recalled Jacob Larsson from AHL Belleville. The 25-year-old Larsson is making his Senators debut. Ottawa also remains without D Artem Zub, who is dealing with an upper body injury.
UP NEXT
The Senators host the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday night, while the Islanders head to Nashville to take on the Predators Thursday night.
