Sens sink slumping Islanders

The Ottawa Senators bounced back from an ugly weekend loss, defeating the New York Islanders 2-1 on Wednesday night.

The game marked the debut of forward Ridly Greig who was drafted in the first round by the Senators in 2020. Greig centred a line flanked by Alex DeBrincat and his childhood idol, Claude Giroux.

Greig was called up from Belleville to replace forward Josh Norris, who is out for the season with a shoulder injury.

Greig showed off his defensive skills just eight minutes into his NHL career after fending off an Islanders two on one.

Fellow Sens rookie Shane Pinto opened the scoring by shovelling the puck past Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov, notching his 12th goal of the season.

The Senators would extend their lead in the second period after Giroux scored a diving goal from a Greig shot, earning Greig his first career NHL point.

Defenceman Jake Sanderson registered his second assist of the night on the Giroux goal.

The Islanders answered back later in the second period with forward Brock Nelson scoring his 18th goal of the season.

The Sens held tight to their one-goal lead to earn two points for the victory.

Senators goalie Cam Talbot left the game with a groin injury part way through the second period. Anton Forsberg made 21 saves in relief.

The Sens are off for two days before they host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

The Islanders will host the Detroit Red Wings on Friday when they hope to snap a six-game winless streak.