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Make it five straight wins for the Ottawa Senators.

The Senators began a four-game road trip with a 5-2 win Monday night in Nashville against a team that’s surprisingly struggled this season.

“That was a tough game,” Senators head coach Travis Green told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson. “I like that we stuck with it, we didn’t get off script.”

The Predators took a 1-0 lead 3:59 into the second period when Forsberg beat Forsberg. Nashville’s Filip Forsberg got behind the Ottawa defence, then slid the puck between the legs of Ottawa goaltender Anton Forsberg.

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Adam Gaudette banged in a rebound off a Tim Stutzle shot for his 16h goal of the season at the halfway point of the middle frame. It was Stutzle’s 300th NHL career point.

“I figured I’d follow Timmy to the net; if you follow a good player to the net, usually it’s going to end up there,” Gaudette said. “He made a good play, beating the D wide and the puck was just sitting there.”

With 6:56 left in the period, Jake Sanderson, earlier in the day named the NHL’s third star of the week, made it 2-1 for the Senators with a wrist shot from the point that found the net through traffic.

“I had a little bit of a slow start, but it’s nice when they come in bunches,” Sanderson said.

The Predators tied the game 47 seconds into the third period on the power play, with Jonathan Marchessault finishing off a nice passing play with a one-timer.

Shane Pinto made it 3-2 for Ottawa with 13:43 left, knocking in the rebound of a Thomas Chabot shot.

David Perron gave Ottawa a two-goal edge with 5:54 left. His first goal as a Senator ricocheted into the net off a Predator. The Nashville fans didn’t like it, it looked like Ottawa should have gotten a penalty in the seconds leading up to the goal.

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“I’ve gotten a lot of good looks, you know it’s bad when your kids start chirping you,” Perron said with a laugh, talking about his scoring drought.

With 2:50 left, Ridly Greig scored an empty-netter before being banged into the goalpost.

There was more good news for the Senators: Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman was given a 10-game suspension without pay for attacking Stutzle and leaving him bloodied Saturday. Hartman is considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, will forfeit $487,804.90. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

A GOAL THAT WASN’T A GOAL

With 3 1/2 minutes left in the opening period, an Ottawa goal by Drake Batherson was waved off because of goaltender interference.

Even after being told it was goaltender interference after a review, Senators coach Travis Green challenged the call anyway. And, here’s what happened.

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An explanation from the NHL Situation Room: “The referees came to video review to ensure that the puck did not enter the net as a result of a continuous shot prior to ruling no goal due to goaltender interference. It was determined that the puck stopped between (Nashville goalie) Juuse Saros’ pads and, therefore, did not enter the net as a result of a continuous shot.

Ottawa then initiated a Coach’s Challenge for goaltender interference. Video review supported the officials’ call on the ice that Ottawa’s Drake Batherson impaired Saros’ ability to play his position in the crease prior to the puck crossing the goal line. According to Rule 69.3, “If an attacking player initiates contact with a goalkeeper, incidental or otherwise, while the goalkeeper is in his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.”

Yeah, that’s a lot of NHL mumbo jumbo; I still didn’t like the original call.

“They hadn’t reviewed it for goalie interference yet,” Green explained later. “They reviewed whether the puck had gone in the net before the whistle. Once they confirmed they hadn’t reviewed goalie interference … we felt it was pretty close, worth the chance to look at.”

A ROAD WELL TRAVELLED

Good NHL teams are good at home, but they usually have some road chops as well.

It’s not like the Senators are setting it on fire on the road this season, but they’re not bad — going into Monday, they’re now 13-13-2 away from home.

Last year, Ottawa was 16-23-2 on the road.

Ottawa has three games in Florida coming up this week; the Senators have games in Tampa Bay Tuesday and Thursday, then in Sunrise Saturday against the Panthers.

“We have to come out fast and play the same way,” Gaudette said. “Stay the course, don’t get too high, don’t get too low.”

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