TORONTO — Ottawa Senators forward Chris Neil had two assists, and the Senators scored four unanswered goals to hand the Tampa Bay Lightning their fourth straight victory on Saturday night.
Ottawa (10-5-3, 15 points) is now 2-0-0 at home and has won four of its last five games in Toronto.
The Senators won in overtime for the third time in five games after a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday.
The Lightning (10 and 5) had won their last four.
“It’s a great way to start off the season,” Neil said.
“The guys were in great spirits.
The energy level was great.
It was a great game for the guys to get back to winning ways.”
After the game, captain Andrew Hammond was asked about his team’s win streak.
“We just need to keep it going,” Hammond said.
The victory marked the second consecutive for the Senators, who also defeated the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
Ottawa has won six of its past eight games, including a 6-0 win against the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
The Stars, who are 0-4-0 on the road, are on a four-game winning streak after a 3-1 loss to Montreal on Friday.
The teams play again on Saturday at 8 p.m.
ET in Montreal.
“This is a huge win for us,” Stars coach Lindy Ruff said.
“(We) came out firing and we showed that we are a very good hockey team and I’m proud of the way we played.”
Forwards Justin Dowling and Ryan Murphy each had one goal and two assists for the Sens.
The Sens have won three straight games over the Stars.
The last time Ottawa won five consecutive games was Feb. 20-21, 2006.
The game was the Senators’ first victory since March 29-30, 2008, when they won six straight games.
Forward Alex Chiasson scored his first goal of the season after the Senators were tied 2-2 in the third period and led 4-1 in the second.
Montreal goalie Jean-Francois Berube made 34 saves to win for the Stars (9-7-3), who are tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for first in the Atlantic Division.
“I thought we were a little bit sloppy with the puck and we gave up a couple chances in the first,” Berube said.
He allowed two goals on 11 shots.
“There was a little too much possession in the offensive zone,” Berave said.
New York was outshot 14-3 and allowed the most goals in the NHL this season.
Forward Max Pacioretty had one assist for the Islanders (6-7).
He had a goal and an assist in four games this season, including one goal.
The Islanders have lost four straight.
Forward Matt Martin had a pair of assists in a 3:05 span of the third and fourth periods.
“They’re a very solid team,” Martin said.
“[Berube] is a good goalie, he’s a good skater, he has a great feel for the game and his work ethic is very good.”
The Lightning defeated the Ottawa Senators, 3-2, on Wednesday night.
Erik Condra scored his third goal of season for Tampa Bay, and defenseman Victor Hedman scored his second of the year in his return after missing three games because of an upper-body injury.
The Panthers had a 2-1 lead midway through the third but failed to capitalize and were tied at 1 at the intermission.
“He made a couple great saves,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
Injuries: LW Mattias Janmark (knee) and D Bryan McCabe (kicked in the groin) are out.
…
LW Nick Bonino (upper body) is day to day.
…
C Ryan Malone (upperbody) is out.
