The Ottawa Senators have been waiting for winger Drake Batherson to have himself a night. Since he signed his 8-year extension with the Senators last month, his production was consistent with eight points in his first eleven games of the season. Tonight, however, he stole the show and helped secure the Senators’ eighth win of the season.
The 28-year-old Senator for life wasted little time making his presence known tonight on the ice when his team hosted the New York Rangers. Batherson opened the scoring early in the opening frame after receiving a slick pass from defenceman Jake Sanderson. This was just the beginning of what ended up being a memorable night for the Senators forward.
Early again in the second period, he beat Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand cleanly after capitalizing on a loose puck brought forward by Dylan Cozens. This goal gave the Senators a commanding 3-0 over the Rangers early in the second period. Midway through the second frame, he assisted on Cozen’s first goal of the season and mustered up his third point of the night to make the game 4-1 in favour of the nation’s capital.
Securing a win
As the Rangers tried to claw themselves back into the game, Batherson’s goal was to stop that from happening (and the possibility of his third career hat trick wouldn’t be so bad of an outcome either). He was all over the ice and finished the game with three shots, two blocks and four hits. Despite Ottawa’s early lead, the Rangers kept finding themselves in opportunities to close the gap and erase the Senators’ three-goal lead. At 15:32 of the third period, Rangers forward Pavel Dorofeyev beat Senators goaltender Jonas Johansson cleanly to bring New York within a goal. Minutes later, Michael Amadio scored an empty net goal to hoist the Senators to a two-goal advantage, but Batherson had one more special moment waiting for him just a minute later.
With just under twelve seconds remaining in regulation, Batherson completed his hat trick for the third time in his NHL career off of a blocked shot that found its way into the Rangers' empty net. Lucky for Senators fans, the team gave away 7,000 hats for tonight’s giveaway, and many of them found themselves on the ice. It wasn’t a highlight reel goal, but his three-goal, four-point night helped the Senators secure a much-needed win in a time when they have injuries in all areas of their lineup.
The Senators defeated the Rangers 7-4 on home ice and collected their eighth win of the season in just twelve games played.
Add us as a preferred source on Google