The breakdown: Anton Forsberg leads the way as Ottawa Senators knock off Seattle Kraken

The Ottawa Senators halted a three-game losing streak since they returned from Sweden and took care of business with a tidy 2-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken in front of 18,159 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

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Led by a standout 39-save performance from Anton Forsberg along with goals from Drake Batherson and Mathieu Joseph, the Senators redeemed themselves for an ugly 4-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets Friday night on the road with a solid effort from start to finish.

This was Forsberg’s fourth career shutout and his first since he blanked the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 23. The club had to kill off two Seattle power plays in the third and held the Kraken to 0-for-3 with a man advantage.

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“We fought for each other and there were a lot of blocks,” Forsberg said.

Forsberg has struggled mightily this season, but he looked calm, cool and collected in this one. He was challenging the shooters, especially down low, and was confident. This is the Forsberg the Senators have been looking for all season and he was a key factor.

He came into this game with a 3-4-0 record, a 3.51 goals-against average and a .851 save percentage. The hope is that this game will help set Forsberg back on the right track because we haven’t seen it every night this season.

“When he’s on, he’s on and the guys love playing for him,” said Ottawa coach D.J. Smith. “He’s as good a guy as we’ve got in that room. You know when (Forsberg) is going because he’s seeing pucks. Give our guys credit; they did a nice job. Let him see a little more.”

This was a homecoming for Seattle goalie Joey Daccord.

It’s the first time he’s faced the club since he was taken by the Kraken in the expansion draft in 2021. Selected No. 199 overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Daccord, 27, came into this one with a 3-3-5 record with a 2.91 goals-against average.

Much has been made of the fact the Senators were outscored 33-17 in the second period during the first 18 games of the season. On this night, they led 2-0 after 40 minutes thanks to key stops by Forsberg and Batherson’s timely goal at 13:37 of the second.

Frustrated on a couple of opportunities earlier in the night, Batherson made no mistake burying his seventh of the season. After a turnover in the Seattle zone, Batherson took a perfect pass from Tim Stutzle and fired it into a wide open net behind to Daccord to give the club a two-goal lead.

Stutzle picked up his 200th career point in his 229th career game.

“It’s especially nice it came in a win that is big for our group,” Stutzle said. “I thought we played well. We played for 60 minutes and we could have scored more goals. Our defence did a heck of a job blocking shots. Forsberg stood on his head today and played really well.

played a complete 60 minutes.”

That gave the Senators a bit of a cushion going to the third.

Joseph showed tremendous patience for his fifth of the season. He was able to jump on a give by the Kraken zone and showed good hands by holding onto alone in the slot to beat Daccord stick side. He took it backhand to forehand to fire it home.

“I thought we battled really hard and we were opportunistic,” Joseph said.

SCARY MOMENT

There was concern in the rink with six minutes left in the second.

Defenceman Thomas Chabot, back after missing 10 games with a broken right hand, left the game briefly after getting tied up by Seattle’s Jordan Eberle in the corner.

Chabot needed help to get back to the bench and then hobbled to the dressing room. Fortunately, he was only missed a shift because Chabot plays a lot of key minutes for this club.

OFF THE GLASS

Batherson had a golden opportunity in the first but hit the crossbar in the first … Forsberg made a huge point-blank stop on Oliver Bjorkstrand alone in front midway through the first … The Senators dodged one in the first when the club’s fourth line was hemmed into the Ottawa zone. Centre Rourke Chartier and winger Zack MacEwen were on the ice for one minute and 55 seconds … It’s the 12th time in 19 games the Senators have scored the first goal. The club came into this one with a 6-5-0 record in 11 games … Quite the takedown by Seattle D Justin Schultz on Stutzle in the second. That resulted in an interference penalty for Schultz … Winger Dominik Kubalik went into this game minus-10 in the first 18 games. He’s ranked No. 724 in the NHL in the plus-minus category … Vladimir Tarasenko had a golden opportunity on the power play midway through the second and couldn’t get his stick on the loose puck.. Daccord was there to dive across to make the save.