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National Hockey League
Ottawa 4, Dallas 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, October 15, 2018
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees: Brad Meier, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Tony Sericolo, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 12358

Brady Tkachuk and Mikkel Boedker scored crucial third-period goals, and goaltender Craig Anderson stopped 37 of 38 shots as the Ottawa Senators defeated the visiting Dallas Stars 4-1 on Monday.

Tkachuk snapped a 1-1 tie at 1:27 of the final period, and Boedker doubled the lead nine minutes later. Ottawa also got a second-period goal from Maxime Lajoie and a late empty-net goal from Zack Smith.

John Klingberg got Dallas on the board at the 16:53 mark of the first period when he took a nice feed from Jason Spezza on the power play, found a gap in the Senators' defense and ripped a shot past Anderson for a 1-0 Stars lead. Alexander Radulov also got an assist on the goal.

Klingberg, who has now has six points (four goals, two assists) in five games, tied a Stars record for longest season-opening point streak by a defenseman with his tally.

Lajoie tied the game with just 20 seconds remaining in the second period. Lajoie skated into the Stars' zone and fired a wrist shot past Dallas goalie Ben Bishop, with Matt Duchene getting an assist.

Tkachuk redirected Dylan DeMelo's pinpoint pass from the point past Bishop to give the Senators a 2-1 lead early in the third period. Chris Tierney garnered the first assist on the goal for his entry pass to DeMelo.

Ottawa added a key insurance goal at the 10:12 mark of the third period. Boedker waited on the doorstep as Duchene did yeoman's work behind the Stars' net, finally breaking free from Dallas' Jason Dickinson long enough to spin and find Boedker for a quick wrister and a 3-1 lead.

The Stars pulled out all the stops to try to get back in the contest, pulling Bishop with more than eight minutes to play for two minutes of action and again with 4:37 remaining. However, they could not get the puck past Anderson.

Smith put away the win with a near length-of-the-ice empty netter with 1:37 remaining.

Bishop took the loss, his second in a row after winning his first two starts. He turned away 20 shots.

The Stars had been averaging just more than four goals per game through the first four games of the season, three of them wins, but were stymied by the youthful Senators.

Ottawa was picked in the preseason by many to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings but has won three of its first six and earned points in four of its games.

Dallas has a quick turnaround for the second game of a two-game road trip, traveling to New Jersey for a battle with the Devils on Tuesday.

The Senators return to the ice on Saturday when they host the Montreal Canadiens.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Dallas   Ottawa
John Klingberg 1 Points Matt Duchene 2
John Klingberg 1 Goals Mikkel Boedker 1
Alexander Radulov 1 Assists Matt Duchene 2
John Klingberg 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Ben Bishop .870 Save Percentage Craig Anderson .974
Ben Bishop 20 Saves Craig Anderson 37
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Dallas 38 1 1-4 2-2 4 31
Ottawa 24 4 0-2 3-4 8 33
Upcoming Games
  • Ottawa will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Senators have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Stars have a W/L % of .333 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.