Senators rally in third, edge Predators

EditorsNote: Minor rewording + style changes in lede; changed to "who" in 2nd graf; changed to "Claude" in 3rd graf; changed to "Batherson" in 5th graf; changed to "the insurance" in 7th graf;

The Ottawa Senators rallied late to earn a 3-2 win against the host Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Alex DeBrincat and Drake Batherson scored third-period goals for the Senators, who trailed 1-0 late in the second period.

Claude Giroux also scored for Ottawa, which had lost two straight, and Cam Talbot made 27 saves in the victory.

Yakov Trenin and Nino Niederreiter scored for Nashville. Juuse Saros made 30 saves for the Predators, who have lost back-to-back games.

DeBrincat gave Ottawa a 2-1 lead 3:55 into the third when he scored his seventh goal of the season with assists from Shane Pinto and Batherson.

It would have been considered an own goal if hockey had such things, as DeBrincat's pass was essentially shot into the Predators' net by Nashville defenseman Dante Fabbro.

Batherson scored on the power play at 9:15 of the final stanza to give Ottawa the insurance marker it needed.

Niederreiter scored a minute later for Nashville to bring it back to a one-goal game.

Trenin had given Nashville a 1-0 lead at 16:57 of the second with his second goal of the season.

Trenin picked up a key shooting lane after a pass from Mark Jankowski and fired a wrist shot past Talbot.

Giroux tied the game at 1-1 with 7.5 seconds remaining in the period on the power play when he cleaned up a rebound.

In addition to the power play, it was effectively a five-on-three advantage for Ottawa when Giroux scored. Jeremy Lauzon left the play holding his hand and went to the Predators bench, and as Ottawa swarmed for the rebound, Nashville still didn't have a fourth penalty killer in on the play.

Lauzon missed the remainder of the game, leaving Nashville to play the third period with just five defensemen.

--Field Level Media

1/3: Dec 10, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Ottawa Senators left wing Tim Stützle (18) handles the puck against Nashville Predators center Cody Glass (8) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

2/3: Dec 10, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Ottawa Senators goaltender Cam Talbot (33) handles the puck against Nashville Predators left wing Tanner Jeannot (84) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

3/3: Dec 10, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) handles the puck against Nashville Predators center Juuso Parssinen (75) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports