Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens

Pinto scores 1st of season, Senators bury Canadiens 4-1

Pinto was playing in just his second game since serving a 41-game suspension for activities related to sports wagering and signing a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Senators.

“That’s Shane,” said Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson, who also played a season with Pinto at North Dakota in 2020-21. “He’s a competitor. He’s a baller. He just brings it every night.

“He’s mentally strong, and if there’s a guy to go through (that suspension), it’s him. He’s kind of brought some light to our team recently.”

Ridly Greig and Sanderson also scored while Mathieu Joseph added an empty-net goal for Ottawa, which won for the fourth time in six games. Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves.

The Senators extended their win streak over the Canadiens to eight games dating to April 5, 2022.

Johnathan Kovacevic, back in the lineup after three games as a healthy scratch, scored for Montreal, which lost its third game in a row. Jake Allen stopped 24 shots.

Montreal went 0-for-5 on the power play — and allowed a short-handed goal — against an Ottawa penalty kill that ranked 31st in the NHL (72.7%) entering the game. The Senators were also 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

“I thought we gifted them three goals there,” Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said. “Obviously a really bad breakdown off the faceoff, leaving a guy open in the slot and a breakaway — other than that, I thought the PK did a great job.

“The PP we struggled to generate tonight and that was probably the difference.”

An unmarked Greig buried a rebound off a short-handed faceoff in Montreal’s zone to open the scoring at 7:45 of the first period.

“I think the first goal hurt, that was a gift,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “It put us back on our heels a bit, our confidence is a little fragile right now.

“When you give gifts in this league it’s hard to win.”

Sanderson picked up a loose puck in the slot and rifled a wrist shot past Allen 41 seconds later to make it 2-0.

Pinto scored on a breakaway at 6:22 of the second to make it 3-0 after a pass from Claude Giroux sent him in alone.

Montreal went on the power play four times in the second but had trouble generating quality scoring chances.

Cole Caufield — riding a five-game goal streak — had a chance but Korpisalo denied him with a glove stop with five minutes left in the period.

Tanner Pearson deflected a point shot that hit the post and trickled along the goal line early in the third period, but never crossed it.

Caufield also missed a wide-open cage at the side of the net.

Kovacevic finally broke through with 7:29 left in the game

The Canadiens pulled the goalie for an extra attacker with four minutes left but Joseph buried his empty-net goal with 2:27 to play.

UP NEXT

Senators: Kick off a three-game homestand against Boston on Thursday night.

Canadiens: Host the Islanders on Thursday night.

OTT leads series 2-0