Senators’ Brady Tkachuk hits major career milestone amid Rangers demolition

The Ottawa Senators demolished the New York Rangers 8-4 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, as captain Brady Tkachuk accomplished a major career milestone. The victory was Ottawa’s second straight win and extended New York’s skid to five consecutive losses.

Tkachuk recorded his 200th regular-season NHL goal and added three assists, finishing with four points on six shots, a plus-3 rating, and two hits. The milestone goal made him the second-fastest player in Senators franchise history to reach 200 goals, accomplishing the feat in 538 games, surpassing Jason Spezza, who needed 549 games. Only Alexei Yashin accomplished the feat faster, doing so in 471 games.

Tkachuk also became just the fourth player in team history to score 200 goals. In 26 games this season, he has now produced nine goals and 16 assists, along with 108 shots, 78 hits, 28 penalty minutes, and a minus-4 rating.

Ottawa set the tone early by scoring four times in the opening period, the first time in franchise history that the Senators scored four first-period goals at Madison Square Garden. Drake Batherson opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 2:18, followed by Nick Jensen at 4:53. Tkachuk made it 3-0 at 15:01, and Dylan Cozens capped the period with a goal at 19:54. The Rangers were booed off the ice after the first intermission.

Cozens finished with a goal and two assists, while Ridly Greig put up three assists for the first three-point game of his NHL career. Jake Sanderson, David Perron, and Jensen each recorded a goal and an assist. Thomas Chabot also scored, and Tim Stutzle sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Ottawa defensemen continued a strong stretch offensively, with Sanderson, Chabot, Jensen, and Artem Zub all contributing points.

Goaltender Leevi Merilainen made 18 saves in his ninth consecutive start and 10th straight appearance, filling in during Linus Ullmark’s absence. Merilainen also stopped 19 shots in a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks the previous night, as the Senators completed a back-to-back sweep.

Jonathan Quick of New York allowed six goals on 17 shots before Spencer Martin replaced him midway through the second period, who made 11 saves in relief. Gabe Perreault scored twice for his first multi-goal NHL game, while Alexis Lafreniere contributed a goal and an assist. The Rangers fell to 20-22-6 and dropped their 17th game in 22 contests at Madison Square Garden this season, where they are now 5-13-4.

Meanwhile, Ottawa improved to 22-19-5 and moved within five points of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators next host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

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