Samsonov makes 38 saves as Golden Knights beat Senators 3-2

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Ilya Samsonov made 38 saves, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Thursday night.

Samsonov had given up 10 goals in his previous two outings but made key saves on Josh Norris, David Perron, Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk to keep the Senators at bay.

The Senators (8-10-1) are now mired in a four-game losing streak and have only managed two goals in their last three games.

Vegas (12-6-2) took the lead early in the first period when Linus Ullmark made a diving save but was unable to get back into position, giving Jack Eichel an open net for his sixth goal of the season. Brett Howden made it 2-0 midway through the second with a goal that beat Ullmark, who made 29 saves, under the arm.

Adam Gaudette finally beat Samsonov 7:17 into the third with two seconds remaining on the power play to cut the lead in half, but Pavel Dorofeyev regained the two-goal lead exactly two minutes later.

Drake Batherson kept the Senators within reach and scored on a Jake Sanderson rebound with just over seven minutes remaining. They were unable to complete the comeback despite outshooting Vegas 18-5 in the third.

Senators: Giving up the first goal has proven costly for the Senators, who have lost eight straight and are 1-9-1 overall when allowing the first goal.

Golden Knights: Vegas capitalized off a poor Ottawa line change and got a free pass up the ice that led to Howden’s goal and a 2-0 lead.

Trailing 3-2 in the third period, the Senators were unable to capitalize on their power-play opportunity late in the period.

Vegas has a 12-1-1 record against Ottawa since entering the league in 2017.

The Senators host the Vancouver Canucks Saturday night, and the Golden Knights face the Montreal Canadiens Saturday afternoon.

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