Tkachuk has two goals, Brown scores again as Senators down Jets 4-2

OTTAWA — Brady Tkachuk said he might start a bet to see how long Senators teammate Connor Brown could extend his franchise-record goal-scoring streak.

Tkachuk scored twice and Brown extended his goal streak to eight games as the Senators beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2 Monday.

“I think he’s going to score the next 13,” Tkachuk said, referring to the number of games left in Ottawa’s season.

After a quiet start to the season, Brown is now scoring at a pace reserved for the league’s top snipers. He tied Toronto’s Auston Matthews for the longest goal streak of the season, and only Jaromir Jagr (nine goals, 1996-97) and Teemu Selanne (11 goals, 1997-98) have had longer streaks in the past 25 years. 

“Nobody deserves it more than him,” Tkachuk said. “He’s one of the hardest workers that I know.

“Everybody’s proud of him, and everything that he’s shooting is going in.”

Evgenii Dadonov scored the game-winner for Ottawa (14-25-4), which ended a four-game losing streak. Anton Forsberg was impressive in goal after a shaky start with 24 saves.

Thomas Chabot and Josh Norris each had two assists for the Senators, who improved to 2-4-1 against the Jets this season.

“We managed the puck a lot better than we have against them in other games,” Senators head coach D.J. Smith said. 

Kyle Connor and and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Winnipeg. Connor Hellebuyck, making his seventh straight start, stopped 20 shots.

Winnipeg (25-14-3) had its three-game winning streak ended and missed a chance to eat into Toronto’s lead for top spot in the North Division. The Maple Leafs lost 4-2 to Montreal on Monday but remained six points ahead of the Jets.

The Jets opened the scoring five minutes into the game after some sustained pressure on their first power play.  Connor scored his 19th goal of the season when his slapshot hit the underside of the Ottawa crossbar and fell behind Forsberg.

Ehlers made it 2-0 at 11:35 of the first period when he used Paul Stastny as a screen and fooled Forsberg with a quick shot to pick up his 18th goal of the campaign.

With the goal, Ehlers extended his point streak to four games (three goals, three assists).

The Senators got one back on the power play when Norris’s shot deflected off both Jets  defenceman Derek Forbort and Tkachuk and past Hellebuyck.

Brown scored his eighth goal in eight games and 14th overall when his shot went off Hellebuyck’s glove and into the net to tie the game 2-2.

The Jets outshot Ottawa 14-7 in the second period, thanks in part to having three power plays. However, Forsberg was sharp to keep his team in the game.

Ottawa managed a couple of good scoring chances in the second on the counter-attack. Hellebuyck denied Brown another goal when he stopped the red-hot forward’s breakaway attempt.

Hellebuyck had to be sharp again late in the period when he stopped speedy forward Alex Formenton on a breakaway and handled a follow-up from Chris Tierney.

Dadonov scored when Hellebuyck was unable to handle a bouncing puck, allowing the Senators forward to get the rebound and backhand the puck over the Jets goalie.

“I’m a little mad at myself,” Hellebuyck, last season’s winner of the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender, said after an off-game. “A couple bad mistakes. Not good enough.”

Tkachuk scored his second of the game and 14th of the season when he caused a turnover in the neutral zone, then skated into Winnipeg’s end and wired a shot past Hellebuyck. 

The Senators went with a young defence after dealing veterans Mike Reilly, Erik Gudbranson and Braydon Coburn before Monday’s trade deadline. 

Erik Brannstrom, 21, moved into Ottawa’s top-four while Victor Mete, 22, made his Senators debut after being claimed off waivers from Montreal earlier Monday.

“It’s good to be here with a lot of young guys,” said Mete, who played nine minutes 43 seconds Monday. “I feel like if I can establish myself here it will be a big success moving forward.”

The Jets and Senators meet again Wednesday at Canadian Tire Centre.

NOTES: Winnipeg centre Mark Scheifele assisted on Connor’s goal to give him an assist in four straight games. … Ottawa forward Colin White played for the first time since he suffered an upper-body injury April 1 against Montreal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2021.

The Canadian Press