Giroux helps Senators beat struggling Predators

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Claude Giroux, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Nick Cousins scored, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Nashville Predators 3-1 on Saturday night.

Tim Stutzle had two assists for Ottawa in its second straight win. Linus Ullmark made 37 saves.

Nashville dropped to 0-4-3 during a seven-game slide.

The Senators went ahead to stay with two goals in the second.

Bernard-Docker got a pass from Stutzle and wristed a shot from the faceoff circle that beat Juuse Saros for his first of the season. Giroux made it 2-0 when his shot deflected off the skate of Nashville’s Steven Stamkos at 16:52.

Saros stopped 27 shots.

The Predators pushed hard late in the second. Roman Josi rang a shot off the crossbar and then Ullmark made a couple big saves.

Cousins made it 3-1 with his third of the season midway through the third.

Ullmark lost his shutout bid when Fedor Svechkov scored with 1:57 left. It was Svechkov's second goal of the season.

Takeaways

Senators: The Senators pushed to the final buzzer, something that had been lacking earlier on.

Predators: Nashville’s penalty killers continue to be a bright spot through this challenging stretch as they were a perfect 3 for 3 on the night.

Key moment

The Senators killed a Nashville power play early in the third to maintain momentum.

Key stat

Coming into the game the Predators had scored at least three goals (including shootout winners) in 16 consecutive games against the Senators.

Up next

The Predators host the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. The Senators host the New York Islanders on Sunday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl