National Hockey League
Vancouver 5, Ottawa 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 11, 2023
Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia
Referees: Michael Markovic, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Derek Nansen, Ryan Jackson
Attendance: 18813

Andrei Kuzmenko scored two goals and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the visiting Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Saturday night for their fourth straight win.

J.T. Miller and Nils Aman each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks. Dakota Joshua had two assists and Thatcher Demko made 18 saves.

Claude Giroux and Nick Holden scored third-period goals for the Senators, who have lost two of their past three games after winning five straight. Tim Stutzle had two assists and Mads Sogaard made 25 saves for the Senators.

The Senators are six points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, but they have played three fewer games.

Kuzmenko gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 15:05 of the first period when he received a pass in the slot from Miller, made a move and scored on a backhand shot.

The Canucks made it 2-0 with a short-handed goal at 4:26 of the second period. After an Ottawa turnover, Miller entered the zone 2-on-1 with Aman, took the return pass on a give-and-go and beat Sogaard.

Aman increased the lead to 3-0 at 10:27. Joshua carried in along the right boards, cut toward the net and fed across the slot to Aman for the easy tip in.

Vancouver added to its cushion at 6:50 of the third period when Sheldon Dries took a drop pass from Joshua on a 3-on-2 rush and scored on wrist shot from between the faceoff circles to make it 4-0.

Ottawa pulled within 4-1 at 13:39 of the third period, when Giroux knocked in the rebound of Thomas Chabot's shot.

Holden made it 4-2 at 15:44, scoring on a wrist shot through traffic from the left faceoff circle, but Kuzmenko scored into an empty net with 15 seconds remaining for the 5-2 final.

The Canucks were 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Senators were 0-for-3.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Ottawa   Vancouver
Tim Stutzle 2 Points Andrei Kuzmenko 2
Claude Giroux 1 Goals Andrei Kuzmenko 2
Tim Stutzle 2 Assists Dakota Joshua 2
N/A Power Play Goals Andrei Kuzmenko 1
N/A Short Handed Goals J.T. Miller 1
Mads Sogaard .862 Save Percentage Thatcher Demko .900
Mads Sogaard 25 Saves Thatcher Demko 18
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Ottawa 20 2 0-3 5-6 21 35
Vancouver 30 5 1-6 3-3 13 32
Upcoming Games
  • Vancouver will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Canucks have a W/L % of .393 after a win and .459 after a loss.
  • Ottawa will play their next game on the road against Calgary. The Senators have a W/L % of .529 after a win and .484 after a loss.