OTTAWA, Ontario — The Senators are nowhere near a playoff spot, but they sure are a tough matchup for the Wild.
After eking out an overtime win back in November, the Wild wasn't as resilient in the rematch and fell, 4-3, on Tuesday at Canadian Tire Centre for its third loss over the past four games.
And that puts a successful outcome to this four-game road trip in jeopardy with challenging tests on deck against the Maple Leafs and Flames.
Ottawa's Thomas Chabot score twice, including the decisive goal that snapped a 3-3 stalemate and halted the Wild's comeback; twice the Wild tied the game after climbing out of a two-goal hole. Goaltender Anton Forsberg had 40 stops, and Cam Talbot blocked 30 shots for the Wild while falling to 0-3 over his last three starts after winning four in a row.
Chabot, who also had an assist for a three-point effort, skated into the Wild's end and sent a blistering shot by Talbot with 5 minutes, 45 seconds to go in the third period.
This cross-Canada trek started with an authoritative 7-3 victory at Edmonton on Sunday, but that version of the Wild offense didn't arrive on time for puck drop.
Neither, it seems, did the defense that helped spark the scoring, as the Wild tripped into an early deficit.
The Senators capitalized on the evening's first shot, a wind-up from Chabot 2:09 into the first.
With 2:55 left in the period, Ottawa doubled its lead on the power play when Brady Tkachuk's shot from along goal line eluded Talbot as Talbot was trying to regain his positioning. The Senators finished 1 for 4, and the Wild blanked on three power plays.
In the second, the Wild was better, but the improvement wasn't enough to move ahead of Ottawa.
Kevin Fiala got the rally started at 6:31 with a shot from between the circles that was his third goal in two games and 17th overall, tying Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello for the third most on the team.
Dmitry Kulikov's assist on the play was his second in as many games, and Nick Bjugstad's helper was his third in his past two appearances.
Then, at 12:40, Fiala's clearing attempt was gobbled up by Ryan Hartman, who passed off to captain Jared Spurgeon for a rising shot that sailed by Forsberg. That tally sealed the ninth consecutive season in which Spurgeon has racked up at least 20 points.
As for Fiala, the assist secured his second straight multi-point game, and he has 27 points in his last 23 games.
But the Senators snagged the momentum back before the period ended; a Josh Brown shot hit traffic in front, and Tim Stutzle pounced on the carom at 16:22.
Again, though, the Wild responded.
This time, Jon Merrill supplied the equalizer after pinching in along the left side and wiring in a top-shelf shot for his career-high fourth goal. Merrill's 15 points have matched his career best from 2018-19.
A photo finish happened the last time these teams played, too.
On Nov.2 at Xcel Energy Center, the Wild blew a two-goal lead and fell behind the Senators in the third period until Foligno scored to force overtime where Kirill Kaprizov delivered his first goal of the season to polish off the 5-4 win.
