OTTAWA – Zack Smith and Chris Kelly each completed hat tricks with empty-net goals to seal the Ottawa Senators' 8-5 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday night in the final preseason game for both teams.
Jesse Winchester tipped Peter Regin's slap shot past Martin Biron 14:12 into the third to put Ottawa ahead 6-5 after both teams had combined to blow five one-goal leads.
Smith scored his third of the game into an empty net with 50.2 seconds remaining. Biron remained on the bench when Kelly added his third goal with 8 seconds left.
Jarko Ruutu had a goal and an assist for Ottawa (3-4-1). The Senators host Buffalo in the season opener Friday.
Former Ottawa center Todd White had a pair of goals for New York (4-2-0). The Rangers open Saturday in Buffalo.
Mats Zuccarello scored 6:13 into the third to draw the Rangers even at 5. Artem Anisimov and Derek Stepan also scored for New York.
Biron, whose long pass set up Stepan's goal, made 20 saves.
Pascal Leclaire stopped 25 shots for Ottawa, which led 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, and 5-4.
White scored short-handed for his second goal of the middle period at 16:33 to put New York up 4-3.
Ruutu, who assisted on Kelly's short-handed goal in the first, tied it at 4 with 30 seconds left in the second.
Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard was given a major and a game misconduct 12:55 into the first for spearing Ottawa's Chris Neil.
Neil and Milan Michalek left the game in the second with lower body injuries. A Senators spokesman said both players were removed from the game for precautionary reasons.
Kelly, who scored a short-handed goal 9:08 in, got his second goal of the game 1:11 into the second. He got behind Rangers defensemen Steve Eminger and Ryan McDonagh to take Jason Spezza's long pass up the middle and drove in alone on Biron, beating him with a wrist shot into the top right corner.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.