Senators' Erik Brannstrom: First goal key to win

Brannstrom scored his first goal of the season in Saturday's 2-1 shootout win over the Wild.

With the Senators down 1-0 early in the third period, Minnesota cleared the puck into Ottawa's end for a line change. Goalie Anton Forsberg pounced on it and fired a pass to a wide-open Brannstrom at the opposite blue line, who had a clear path to Wild netminder Filip Gustavsson and blasted a slapshot past him. Brannstrom has never scored more than two goals in an NHL season, and this was his first point in 2023-24, so an offensive surge for the 24-year-old defenseman seems unlikely.