Murray blanks Canadiens for 1st shutout with Senators
MONTREAL (AP) — Drake Batherson had two goals and an assist, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on Saturday.
Artem Zub and Nikita Zaitsev also scored for last-place Ottawa, which had dropped five of six. Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris each had two assists.
Matt Murray made 23 saves in his first shutout of the season and No. 12 for his career.
Montreal lost for the fifth time in seven games. It has managed just 11 goals during the tough stretch.
Carey Price finished with 11 saves for the Canadiens. Price returned to the lineup after missing six games with a lower-body injury.
The rebuilding Senators improved to 5-3-0 against the Canadiens this season, with three of their six road wins in 2021 coming at the Bell Centre.
Batherson has 11 points in eight games against Montreal.
Zub put Ottawa ahead to stay when he buried a wrist shot from the top of the slot 3:03 into the first period. It was Zub's third of the season.
Batherson made it 2-0 at 13:12 in the second period. He took a feed from Brady Tkachuk and fooled Price with a five-hole shot for his 14th goal.
Batherson added a power-play goal in the third, and Zaitsev tacked on an empty-netter.
HE'S HERE
Senators forward Shane Pinto made his NHL debut. He got an assist on Zaitsev's goal for his first point.
Pinto is the fifth Ottawa player to make his NHL debut this season.
UP NEXT
Senators: Visit Calgary on Monday night.
Canadiens: Open a five-game trip Monday night at Edmonton.
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