By Canadian Press

Pinto nets hat trick to lead Senators past Canadiens 4-2

Oct 5, 2024 | 6:39 PM

OTTAWA — Shane Pinto capped off the NHL pre-season with a hat trick, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

It was the final exhibition game for both teams with Ottawa finishing with a 5-1-1 record, while Montreal was 2-4.

Michael Amadio also scored for the Senators, while Linus Ullmark looked solid stopping 23 shots.

Christian Dvorak and Arber Xhekaj scored for the Canadiens. Sam Montembeault made 15 saves.

Trailing 4-1, and struggling to beat Ullmark, Xhekaj found a way with a shot from the point midway through the third.

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After a solid first Pinto continued to lead the way for the Senators in the second chipping in with a goal and an assist to give Ottawa a 4-1 lead.

Just 22 seconds into the period, Amadio tipped in an Artem Zub shot. Four minutes later, Pinto forced a turnover on the Montreal power play and scored on a breakaway, beating Montembeault with a backhand.

The Senators took a 2-1 lead in the first period after Pinto scored a pair of goals.

Pinto opened the scoring just 44 seconds into the game when he picked up a Noah Gregor rebound.

Ottawa, with a two-man advantage, made it 2-0 at 5:57 after Pinto tipped a Jake Sanderson shot past Montembeault.

Montreal cut the lead in half late in the period after a battle for the puck behind the net led to a bouncing puck in front and Dvorak was able to put it past Ullmark.

NOTES

Ottawa’s top line of Claude Giroux, Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk did not dress for the game. David Perron also didn’t dress. Montreal chose to sit Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach.

UP NEXT

Senators: Open the regular season hosting the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

Canadiens: Open the regular season hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2024.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press