Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk caps emotional win with OT goal against New York Rangers

Captain Brady Tkachuk acknowledges Senators fans after being named the first star following Saturday’s 4-3 win against the Rangers at Canadian Tire Centre. Photo by Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photo /GETTY IMAGESArticle content

SENATORS 4, RANGERS 3 (OT)

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Captain Crunch came through for the Ottawa Senators.

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Brady Tkachuk capped off game No. 500 of his career in memorable fashion by scoring twice, including the winner for the Senators’ dramatic 4-3 overtime victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon.

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The Senators captain had the fans chanting his name after Ottawa erased a two-goal deficit in the third period and Tkachuk beat New York goalie Igor Shesterkin with a shot only 33 seconds into OT.

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That capped a comeback that wouldn’t have happened without Michael Amadio tying it up with 2:52 left in the third period, after Ridly Greig had scored to bring the Senators within a goal.

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“This is a big win,” Tkachk said. “That doesn’t happen without the belief and the resilience that, no matter how much time we have, we always have a chance to come back.”

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It was an emotional 24 hours for Tkachuk after he watched close friend Josh Norris head off to Buffalo in a trade that brought back centre Dylan Cozens, but it couldn’t have ended in a better fashion.

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Senators head coach Travis Green gave his group credit for showing resilience by shaking off the decision to make roster changes on Friday and getting the job done, resulting in two important points in the race to the playoffs in the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference.

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“It’s been an emotional 24 hours for our group,” Green said. “With the 12:30 p.m. start, I give our team a lot of credit for being focused to play.”

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Until the third period, it looked like Shesterkin would steal the two points for New York, but Ottawa stuck with it and found a way.

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Shesterkin came into this game with a 5-1-1 lifetime record against the Senators along with a .948 save percentage.

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The Senators finished Saturday’s game without veteran defenceman Travis Hamonic, who left because of a left leg injury late in the third period.

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Shane Pinto (12) of the Senators skates with the puck against Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers during the second period of Saturday’s NHL game at the Canadian Tire Centre. Photo by Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photo /Getty ImagesArticle content

SENSE OF URGENCY

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The stretch drive has to bring out the best in the Senators, as it will decide if they will make the post-season for the first time in eight years.

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They are trending in the right direction.

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Artemi Panarin’s 27th of the season had given the Rangers a 3-1 lead with 7:08 left in the third period. Greig pulled the Senators within a goal by scoring on the power play at 10:16. Cozens picked up his first point with Ottawa by collecting an assist on the play.

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“The pesky Sens strike again,” Ottawa netminder Linus Ullmark said. “We knew what needed to be done. It felt like in the room, and on the ice, there wasn’t really any doubt. They got up 3-1, but I didn’t feel any panic and the guys didn’t change.