By Canadian Press

Senators win fourth straight by blanking Blackhawks 2-0

Mar 28, 2024 | 7:46 PM

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators are riding a four-game winning streak following a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night thanks to Anton Forsberg’s 19-save shutout performance.

The win was Ottawa’s first against Chicago since Dec. 20, 2016, snapping an 11-game losing skid.

The Senators (31-36-4) got first-period contributions from Claude Giroux and Parker Kelly.

Peter Mrazek had a rough first period for the Blackhawks, but settled in and stopped 32 shots.

Fans piled near the glass during warm-ups to see Chicago’s (21-46-5) Connor Bedard, but the young centre was quiet on this night.

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The Senators were playing the back half of a back-to-back following a 6-2 win over Buffalo, while Chicago had been waiting in Ottawa.

Ottawa held the Blackhawks to just five shots in the third as Chicago pressed to beat Forsberg.

Trailing 2-0 the Blackhawks looked to get on the board, but were unable to generate many chances and anything that came close was stopped by Forsberg.

The Senators jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the six-minute mark.

Giroux opened the scoring with a short-handed goal just 36 seconds into the game. Kelly capitalized on a Bedard giveaway. The Senators forward put a shot on goal and it went off former Senators’ defenceman Nikita Zaitsev giving him a career-high eight goals.

NOTES

Ottawa D Thomas Chabot missed the game with a lower-body injury that has been nagging Chabot in recent weeks. He’s not expected to miss significant time. Tyler Kleven was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators. Chicago’s Reese Johnson missed the game due to concussion protocol.

UP NEXT

Senators: Visit the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

Blackhawks: Visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press