Drake Batherson delivers with a hat-trick as Senators survive Rangers rally

Give a tip of the cap to Drake Batherson.

He picked up his third National Hockey League hat-trick by putting this game away with an empty-netter.

The Ottawa Senators made this harder than it needed to be, but they still found a way to collect two points.

After watching a comfortable lead evaporate, Jake Sanderson’s first goal of the season midway through the third period proved to be the winner as Ottawa Scored a 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night.

The Senators improved their record to 8-4-0 with the victory, only the fourth time ever the franchise has had eight wins in October, capped by the empty-net goals from Batherson and Michael Amadio.

Batherson’s hat-trick effort came on a blocked shot off his shin that found its way into the Rangers’ empty net.

“It was kind of like watching a long putt go down the green and just hoping it fell. So I’m glad it went in … a 60-footer,” Batherson said.

His timing was perfect because the Senators were giving away 7,000 free hats, and some of those landed on the ice.

“I didn’t know that. I guess it worked out well,” Batherson quipped.

Dylan Cozens and Tim Stutzle also chipped in with goals.

The Senators looked good for 33 minutes, then they allowed the Rangers back into this one. Goaltender Jonas Johansson, making his first start for the Senators, had to hold the fort in the third period as New York poured it on.

The Senators didn’t test New York goalie Dylan Garand nearly enough in the third until Sanderson beat him on the first shot Ottawa registered in more than 11 minutes, giving the home team a 5-3 lead.

Pavel Dorofeyev brought the Rangers back within a goal with 4:28 left.

“I thought we really defended hard in the third,” coach Travis Green said. “I loved the start. I thought we came out and really established the way we play and want to play. I thought when we got up 3-0, we got about 5 percent loose. That happens when you get a lead.

“It was a hard-fought win.”

The decision to start Johansson was a mild surprise.

The Senators will be without injured top goalie Linus Ullmark for at least the next 10 days, and this was an opportunity to give the struggling Samuel Ersson a start with one day’s rest.

“I just try not to change the way I play,” said Johansson. “I do my best out there, whatever team I play for. I’m really happy to be here. It’s a great group of guys.

“We had a really strong start. They made a really good push and they got a little bit of momentum. They’re a good team over there, but I’m really happy we came out strong at the end.”

You have to wonder if the Senators will be able to withstand the loss of Ullmark. Johansson gave up three goals on 19 shots through 40 minutes, which had to be a cause for concern.

Johansson’s last NHL start was with the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 7, coincidentally also at the Canadian Tire Centre. He gave up five goals on 26 shots that night as the Senators won 6-2. The 31-year-old has played 105 games in the NHL during his career, so it’s not like he lacks experience.

The Senators looked like they were in control when they pulled ahead 4-1 in the second period, but goals by J.T. Miller and Alexis Lafrenière allowed the Rangers to pull within a goal.

“Just resilience,” Sanderson said when he was asked how he would describe the win. “We had a great start, we dipped a little bit in the second. It was frustrating to give up another shorthanded goal, but we stuck with it.

“They pushed pretty hard at the start of the third, and we weathered the storm and played great defence to get the win.”

You could hear the sigh of relief when Cozens scored his first of the season at 11:21 of the period to end a scoring drought dating back to April 15 of last season.

Getting the struggling power play going would help Ottawa greatly.

The Senators went into their game against the Rangers with only six goals in 49 opportunities this season. That had them ranked No. 29 in the NHL with a 12.2 per cent success rate.

For the second straight game the Senators surrendered a short-handed goal. A turnover by Jake Sanderson resulted in a 2-on-1 break, and Will Cuylle got the Rangers on the board by beating Johansson at 10:07 of the second period.

Batherson’s second goal of the game, only 1:47 into the second period, gave his club a commanding 3-0 lead. He went to the front of the net and beat Garand with a rebound.

Getting off to a strong start was paramount for the Senators. Nobody had any idea what to expect from Johansson, so the best bet was to give him some breathing room. He didn’t even get a full practice with Ottawa before making his debut.

The Senators scored twice in a span of 1:06 to take a 2-0 lead before fans had a chance to settle into their seats.

Stutzle extended his point streak to four games with his eighth of the season. He went to the net to redirect a perfect pass from Fabian Zetterlund past Garand on the stick side at 6:40.

Batherson opened the scoring at 5:34. He took a perfect feed from Jake Sanderson and one-timed the puck past Garand. That was the eighth time in 12 games the Senators had scored first.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com