Ottawa Senators play the spoilers’ role against New York Islanders

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The Ottawa Senators are trying to embrace the role of spoilers down the stretch.

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They won’t be in the National Hockey League’s playoff picture for the seventh straight spring, but the Senators have the opportunity to help determine which teams book tickets to the dance.

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On Saturday, they didn’t make it easy for the New York Islanders as the Senators scored a 4-3 overtime win at UBS Arena on the strength of captain Brady Tkachuk’s third career hat-trick.

“We’ve got to play with a little more desperation and our will,” Islanders winger Matt Martin said. “That’s a team that’s playing, quite respectfully, for nothing, and they’re playing free and loose. Those are always dangerous teams and we’ve to be better in that situation.”

The Islanders are in a battle for the final wildcard spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference and went into Saturday night’s slate of games trailing the Detroit Red Wings by one point thanks to Detroit’s 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

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“I didn’t think we were good enough,” said Islanders forward Bo Horvat, who was in the penalty box when Tkachuk scored the OT winner. “There were parts of the game where we were out of sync, losing our battle and not playing Isles hockey. That’s what cost us in the end.”

That wasn’t the outcome Isles’ head coach Patrick Roy wanted, but at least New York battled back to tie it up and send to OT so it would get one point out of the game, but the club’s winless streak extended to three straight.

New York is now 10-7-4 since Roy took over behind the bench.

“It wasn’t enough. Some guys made some bad decisions and bad plays at some key moments,” Roy said. “I felt we gave (Ottawa) those four goals. When a team isn’t scoring as much as you wish, you’ve got to play very well defensively or manage it much better than we did.

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“That’s what happened on those four goals. We’ve got to be better in our battles in these games. The bottom line: We just gave that game away.”

Horvat didn’t like the holding call against him in OT.

“I don’t know if (the referee) was trying to make up for the call (against Ottawa late in the third period), but I guess, at the end of the day, I can’t take that penalty,” Horvat said.

LEAVE IT TO G

Interim head coach Jacques Martin believes alternate captain Claude Giroux has looked better since the Senators had a three-day break in the schedule last week in Anaheim.

The 36-year-old Giroux scored his first goal in 13 games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and then fired home the winner in the shootout with a memorable slap shot that goalie Elvis Merzlikins no chance.

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“The first goal (in the third) got us going and gave us some life,” Martin told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson. “I think his last two games have been excellent. I thought the game before (versus the Pittsburgh Penguins) he was exceptional.

“After the return from the road trip, it maybe gave him a break a bit with a little bit of time off in Anaheim, might have helped to re-energize and being able to focus on the rest of the season.”

PAGEAU, PAGEAU, PAGEAU

Centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau has always taken his game to another level at this time of year.

Ottawa fans witnessed it first-hand while he was with the Senators and he has been doing it again with the Isles in a battle for the final wildcard spot in the East.

“This time of the year is fun,” said Pageau, who suited up for 35 playoff games with the Senators. “You’re pushing for something. We have an extremely competitive group here and we’re approaching them like it’s a playoff game.

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“We need the points. We know how tight this is. Every period matters, every game matters and we’ve got to be ready.”

Pageau, 31, suited up for No. 700 of his career Monday, making him one of only three skaters taken in the fourth-round or later of the 2011 draft to complete that feat. Taken No. 96 overall by the Senators, Pageau played 428 games with Ottawa from 2012 to 2020.

THE LAST WORDS

Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg will make the start Sunday at home against the Carolina Hurricanes after playing the role of spectator Saturday. He’s coming off a 35-save effort in the victory over the Blue Jackets on Thursday. Forsberg has a 2-0-0 record against the Hurricanes with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage …. Senators winger Drake Batherson will suit up for his 158th consecutive game Sunday. He’ll tie Jason Spezza for No. 16 all-time with that streak, which Batherson started on April 4, 2021 … Steve Staios, the Senators’ president and general manager, will attend his first NHL GM meetings in Palm Beach starting Monday. Staios will have a chance to continue some of the trade talks that were left on the table at the deadline on March 8 … Tim Stutzle extended his point-scoring streak to five straight games with three assists on Saturday, including Tkachuk’s OT winner. Stutzle, the Senators’ leading scorer, has three goals and four assist for seven points since March 7. He had points in all three games against the Isles this season.

Top of the morning! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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