OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Claude Giroux and Parker Kelly scored, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 on Thursday night for their fourth consecutive victory.
Anton Forsberg made 19 saves in his second shutout of the season and No. 5 for his career.
It was Ottawa’s first win against Chicago since Dec. 20, 2016, snapping an 11-game skid.
“Really good start; kind of set the tone for the rest of the game,” Kelly said. “Thought we did a pretty good job of just keeping them at bay, getting pucks behind them and not really letting them in our zone. Really liked our game tonight, a full 60.”
Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek made 32 saves. The last-place Blackhawks had won two straight games.
Fans piled near the glass during warmups to see Chicago rookie Connor Bedard, but the 18-year-old center was kept off the scoresheet.
“We just didn’t match their intensity,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. “I think they were a step ahead of us everywhere and unfortunately we paid the price. (Mrazek) kept us in and gave us a chance to get back in the game but our power play that has been very good for us lately tonight was a little sloppy.”
The Senators were coming off a 6-2 victory at Buffalo on Wednesday night.
Ottawa held Chicago to just six shots on goal in the third as the Blackhawks pressed to beat Forsberg.
The Senators jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period.
“The first period was the difference, it’s as simple as that,” Chicago forward Nick Foligno said. “We’ve had trouble with our starts. I don’t know what it is. Obviously, they were excited coming back to a sold-out rink and we just didn’t have the same energy and compete that we needed.”
Giroux scored a short-handed goal just 36 seconds into the game. It was his 20th on the season.
Kelly capitalized on a Bedard giveaway. His shot went off former Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev and into the net, giving him a career-high eight goals on the season.
“We got saves when we needed it, and got a short-handed goal to start it and then again some production from different people,” interim Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “I thought we had a pretty good game, competed well and a good result.”
Zaitsev left the game, but Richardson said he wasn’t feeling well earlier and it escalated as he played. He also added that Zaitsev has been battling an upper-body injury of late.
The Senators played without defenseman Thomas Chabot, who has a lower-body injury.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.
Senators: At the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
