EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) The Ottawa Senators didn’t have to wait long to make up for a tough loss one night earlier.
Tyler Ennis had a goal and two assists as the Senators beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Artem Anisimov, Connor Brown, Anthony Duclair and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored to help the Senators snap a five-game losing streak, including a 5-2 loss at Vancouver on Tuesday night. Craig Anderson, returning from a lower-body injury, stopped 24 shots.
”We’ve been good on back-to-back in the second game for whatever reason this season,” Ennis said. ”We knew it wasn’t good enough in Vancouver. We still didn’t come out with our best in the first, but we stuck with it and got the win.”
Jujhar Khaira and Oscar Klefbom had goals for the Oilers, losers of three of their last four. Mikko Koskinen gave up three goals on 12 shots before leaving in the second period. Mike Smith finished with 11 saves.
”We just stopped playing the right way, and cheated for offence,” Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. ”It doesn’t really matter who you play, if you play that way you’re not going to win many games.”
Edmonton started the scoring with just under six minutes to play in the first period. Draisaitl made a nice backhand feed in front to Khaira, who scored his sixth of the season. Ottawa challenged the play, believing Sam Gagner was offside, but the goal was confirmed.
The Senators surged into the lead with two goals 12 seconds apart early in the second period.
Ottawa tied it shortly after a power play expired when Anisimov tucked a shot from in tight past Koskinen at 5:15. Then Brown beat Koskinen through the legs with a wrist shot for his first goal in 17 games at 5:27.
Ottawa made it 3-1 on a nice pass from Brown through to Ennis, who scored his eighth of the season with 8:18 remaining in the middle period. The goal chased Koskinen and brought on Smith.
”We needed to man up. We were in the midst of a five-game losing streak and I didn’t think it was a great effort, but back-to-back that’s a good hockey game,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. ”We scored on our chances in the second period and it gave us some life.”
Klefbom beat Anderson on a long power-play shot with 2:23 left to pull the Oilers within one.
The Senators made it 4-2 just 90 seconds into the third as Duclair picked up a wide shot behind the net and tucked it into the net for his 11th.
Ottawa kept the pressure on and was rewarded again with 8:13 left as Namestnikov was left alone in front to score his seventh.
NOTES: Ottawa has won its last six trips to Edmonton. … Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk played in his 100th NHL game. … Out with injuries for the Oilers were Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), Zack Kassian (back) and Matt Benning (head), while the Senators were without Cody Goloubef (undisclosed), Scott Sabourin (head) and Christian Wolanin (upper body).
UP NEXT
Senators: At Philadelphia on Saturday to finish a five-game trip.
Oilers: Host Los Angeles on Friday night in the second of a four-game homestand.
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