Shane Pinto’s overtime goal lifts Senators to 4-3 win over Avalanche at Canadian Tire Centre

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Shane Pinto scored his second goal of the game at 2:08 of overtime, and the Ottawa Senators rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday. The win came after Ottawa erased a late third-period tie, forcing extra time when Drake Batherson scored with 3:56 remaining in regulation.

Batherson’s equalizer made it 3-3 as he poked in a rebound in the crease following Jordan Spence’s shot that trickled through the five-hole on Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood. Pinto then finished the game in overtime by intercepting a pass intended for the middle of the zone and beating Wedgewood blocker-side from the slot.

Ottawa struck first when Pinto gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 7:11 of the first period. The play began with Pinto blocking Brent Burns’ shot at the left point, then winning a race to the puck with Noah Juulsen in the right circle before beating Wedgewood five-hole. Tim Stützle extended the advantage to 2-0 at 13:13 of the first period, collecting a pass from behind the net where it had been worked out by Alex Zetterlund, and sliding a backhand past Wedgewood.

Colorado responded in the second period. Artturi Lehkonen cut Ottawa’s lead to 2-1 at 18:04, scoring a power-play goal by beating Linus Ullmark from between the circles. Earlier in the game, Ullmark returned after missing nine games with a lower-body injury and finished with 25 saves, while Wedgewood made 22 stops for the Avalanche.

The Senators tied the game in the third period with a short-handed goal from Parker Kelly at 3:54. Kelly intercepted a pass in the defensive zone, advanced slowly on a 2-on-2 rush, and shot short side past Ullmark. Colorado then regained the lead at 10:03 when Gabriel Landeskog scored a power-play goal, finishing a one-timer in the low slot off a feed from Brock Nelson.

As the game tightened, both teams also faced injury concerns. Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury after trying to reverse-hit Senators defenseman Artem Zub. Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who exited practice early on Sunday, took a shift at 10:44 that lasted four seconds and headed to the locker room; he later returned briefly for a 23-second shift before staying on the bench for the rest of the period.

From Ottawa’s perspective, the victory also extended a recent run. The Senators improved to a record of 12-6-2, and they were 3-0-1 in their past four games, according to the NHL recap. Ullmark’s return helped Ottawa protect its lead after the late third-period adjustments, setting up Pinto’s overtime winner.

Colorado, meanwhile, saw five separate goal scorers in the matchup. Lehkonen, Parker Kelly, and Landeskog scored for the Avalanche, who earned at least a point in four straight games with a 2-0-2 run entering the contest. Despite the loss, the game featured a complete scoring sequence across three periods and ended with the Senators’ overtime surge led by Pinto.