OTTAWA — Matt Duchene scored twice and added an assist in the Ottawa Senators’ 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.
Duchene was playing his first game after missing the last three due to the birth of his first son. It also marked the first time he played against the Avalanche in Ottawa since he was traded by Colorado to the Senators on Nov. 5, 2017.
Ottawa Senators Matt Duchene celebrates his second goal of the game with teammate Cody Ceci (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
Brady Tkachuk, Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel also scored for the Senators (18-24-5), while Anders Nilsson made 30 saves. It was Ottawa’s first win at Canadian Tire Centre since Dec. 17.
Nikita Zadorov and Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche (21-18-8), who wrapped up a five-game road trip. Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots.
Leading 3-1, the Senators extended their lead midway through the third as Duchene scored his 19th of the season. Zack Smith fired a puck that went wide of the net off the back boards and Duchene picked it up and scored short side.
The Avalanche appeared to cut the lead in half minutes later, but upon review it was called off as the left post was off the mooring.
MacKinnon had a power-play goal with four minutes remaining and Varlamov on the bench for the two-man advantage. The Avalanche had another opportunity after Christian Jaros sent the puck over the glass, but Colorado couldn’t capitalize and Duchene put the puck into an empty net for his second of the night.
After a scoreless first period, the Senators didn’t take long to beat Varlamov in the second.
Ottawa opened the scoring in the second minute as Tkachuk buried a Chris Tierney rebound right in front.
Just over one minute later Stone, with his 21st of the season, re-directed Cody Ceci’s shot past Varlamov.
The Senators were able to take a 3-0 lead midway through the period on a play that started with a great defensive play by Thomas Chabot, who returned after missing the last eight games with an upper-body injury. Chabot then went on to find Dzingel alone down low who tucked the puck in the open side.
The Avalanche finally got on the board late in the period as Zadorov’s point shot made it through traffic to beat Nilsson.
Notes: Nick Paul was a healthy scratch for the Senators. Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson missed his 11th straight game due to a concussion.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press