Forsberg stops 39 shots, Senators beat Kraken 2-0

Dec 2, 2023 | 6:54 PM

OTTAWA — Anton Forsberg recorded his first shutout of the season stopping 39 shots Saturday night to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-0 win over the Seattle Kraken.

The Senators (9-10-0) snapped a three-game losing streak with the win and gave fans a rare home win. Ottawa has only won twice in its last nine at Canadian Tire Centre.

Mathieu Joseph and Drake Batherson provided the offence for Forsberg.

Joey D’Accord made 26 saves for Seattle (8-11-6) which has now lost four in a row (0-3-1).

Trailing 2-0 going into the third period, the Kraken pushed hard to get on the scoresheet, but Forsberg was solid. Seattle outshot Ottawa 15-3 in the third.

Both teams had a slow start to the second with the first shot of the period not coming until 8:22.

The Senators took a 2-0 lead at the 13-minute mark after Vladimir Tarasenko won a battle behind the net to feed Tim Stutzle, who passed to a wide-open Batherson. Stutzle picked up his 200th career point on the play.

Ottawa had a brief scare when Thomas Chabot went down hard and left the ice favouring his right leg, but the defenceman returned after a brief absence.

Ottawa opened the scoring late in the first period after Matty Beniers lost an edge and lost the puck. Joseph was in front to pick it up and beat D’Accord for his fifth of the season.

NOTES

Ottawa’s Matthew Highmore was a healthy scratch. … Seattle’s Brandon Tanev returned to the lineup after missing the last two games. … Justin Schultz played in his 700th NHL game. … Jaden Schwartz is dealing with an upper-body injury and is expected to be out for approximately six weeks.

UP NEXT

Senators: Host the New York Rangers Tuesday night.

Kraken: Travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens Monday night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2023.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press