Nick Cousins broke a tie with 2:18 remaining in the third period to lift the Ottawa Senators to a 4-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday. The win extends Ottawa's recent momentum, while Utah continues a difficult road stretch.
Cousins redirected a pass from Thomas Chabot at the top of the crease past goaltender Karel Vejmelka to give the Senators a 3-2 lead. Following the goal, Shane Pinto added an empty-net goal at 19:44 to finalize the 4-2 score.
In the first period, Fabian Zetterlund scored on a power play with one second remaining to give Ottawa a 1-0 lead after receiving a pass from Stephen Halliday. Samuel Ersson made 30 saves in the win, marking his third consecutive victory.
The Utah Mammoth responded through Clayton Keller, who tied the game 1-1 at 9:57 by knocking in his own rebound. Barrett Hayton later tied the game at 2-2 with a tip-in during the third period.
Michael Amadio scored for the Senators at 6:29 of the third period off a feed from Claude Giroux to reclaim the lead. Despite the effort, Utah coach Andre Tourigny noted that the team may be experiencing fatigue at the end of their road trip.
The Senators (11-6-1) have won two straight and have earned points in four of their last five games. This victory marks the seventh time in franchise history that Ottawa has scored a go-ahead goal during the final five minutes of regulation, and the first time since February 24-27, 2007.
For the Mammoth (10-7-1), the loss marks their second consecutive defeat. Clayton Keller recorded a goal and an assist in the contest, extending a streak of recording at least one point in each of Utah's five road games.
