Andrew Hammond makes 42 saves in first NHL start as Sens double up Habs

Montreal Canadiens goalie Dustin Tokarski kicks out a diving shot from Ottawa Senators right wing Bobby Ryan during second period NHL action Wednesday , February 18, 2015 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA -- Andrew Hammond made 42 saves in his first NHL start and led the Ottawa Senators to a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night.

Milan Michalek, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Mark Stone and Kyle Turris, into an empty net, scored for the Senators (23-23-10).

Dustin Tokarski made 35 saves for the Canadiens (37-16-4), who got goals from Max Pacioretty and Nathan Beaulieu, his first in the NHL.

The Canadiens were forced to play with five defencemen after Alexei Emelin skidded into the boards and left the game with an injury to the shoulder or elbow. There was no immediate word on the gravity of his injury. Jarred Tinordi was called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs immediately after the game.

Hammond was called into action Monday to replace starter Robin Lehner, who was hurt towards the end of the second period against Carolina. Lehner was unable to play Wednesday and with Craig Anderson already out with a hand injury, Hammond got the start.

The Senators opened the third period with a 2-1 lead before Stone gave them some insurance with a power-play goal at 9:27.

Erik Karlsson's shot hit the post and then Tokarski's pads before coming to a rest six inches from the goal line. Stone was first to the puck and was awarded the goal after video review confirmed it wasn't kicked in.

That goal wound up being rather large as Beaulieu scored at 14:25, cutting the Ottawa lead to 3-2.

There was no scoring in the first period but there were several opportunities as the teams combined for 27 shots and three goal posts-- including one by Canadiens forward Brandon Prust, who struck iron despite being alone at the top edge of the crease in front of a wide open net.

The furious pace continued into the second period but it was Montreal that had most of the early momentum, with 11 shots in the opening seven minutes.

The Senators drew first blood, though, as Michalek won a goal-mouth battle and jammed a puck past Tokarski at 11:26.

It didn't take the Canadiens long to respond as Pacioretty scored on a breakaway by beating Hammomd with a wrist shot through the legs. Hammond stopped all 26 shots he had faced up to that point.

The Senators took the lead once again at 18:13 when Pageau scored from the top of the crease when he tipped in a slap pass from Karlsson, who finished with two assists for the fourth straight game.

Post game comments

The Canadiens' coach noted following the game that his troops failed to play as tight a game defensively as in their previous spotless effort against the Red Wings.

“We played a game that we can’t play. It’s very nice to get 44 shots but we gave the opponent far too many scoring chances. It's often not about the chances you get but the ones you give up,” said Coach Michel Therrien.

Pacioretty, who had seven shots on net and several partial breakaways, said after the game that the Canadiens need to get more traffic in front of the other team's net.

"I think we made it too easy on Hammond. We didn’t get as many screens on him as we would have liked. Hammond played a good game but it seems like the same problem too often, we need to find a way to put more goals on the board," said Pacioretty.

Beaulieu said that the loss of Emelin could be represent a challenge.

"Losing a quality guy like Emelin is definitely difficult. Hopefully he’ll be back soon. That’s a big piece of the puzzle," said Beaulieu.

Tokarski did not appear too discouraged following the game in spite of yet another loss in a game he started.

"Give credit and congratulations to the guy at the other end. He played well. It’s a game of inches. That game winner could have gone either way. It was a good hockey game and they squeaked out out," he told a scrum of reporters.

Notes: Clarke MacArthur, Patrick Wiercioch and Robin Lehner were scratches for the Senators, while Manny Malholtra, Mike Weaver and Sergei Gonchar did not dress for the Canadiens Michel Therrien coached his 649th game Wednesday, moving him ahead of John Muckler for 46th on the all-time NHL list.

-With a file from The Canadian Press