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OTT PG15 @ Toronto Maple Leafs — Shutout |
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The Ottawa Senators blank the Toronto Maple Leafs at their own barn by the final score of 3-0. Ottawa showed up to play with early goals in the Battle of Ontario. Linus Ullmark earned his first Senators’ shutout in Shane Pinto’s return game. This also got Ottawa back to above 0.500 in the win/loss record at 8-7-0.
This is what happened in the goal scoring department:
Period I
Josh Norris going to scoring started right away for the visiting club at 41 seconds into the game. The former Sharks’ sixth goal of the season was assisted by Claude Giroux and Artem Zub. This was Zub’s first assist of the season. The cause of this was from a horrendous turnover by Nylander that Zub caught. Norris retrieved the puck and passed it to Giroux. As Giroux entered the zone, he back passed it back over to a rushing Norris, who found the space early for the game winner.
Period II
The Senators potted two goals in 43 seconds early in the middle frame before holding down the fort for Ullmark.
Tim Stützle earned his seventh goal of the year of a wrister from Drake Batherson and Thomas Chabot. After an initial attempt that was disallowed, Chabot retained the puck on the blue line. He moved it down low to Batherson who moved the biscuit to a rushing Stützle beating Stolarz blocker side.
Mike Amadio netted his second Sens’ goal from Zub. This was a failed pinch attempt by the Leafs’ defense that Amadio rushed from zone to zone to zone, getting it pass Stolarz glove side.
Players to Watch
Mitch Marner was a -1 in 21:27TOI. Marner had a takeaway; shot on net; and blocked shot; he also had two hits and giveaways.
Shane Pinto had his first game back and looked good. That much time away mess up the flow of the team and the player, but he fit right in with the ex-Leafs on the third line. He was three for nine in the faceoff dot. He won his only shorthanded opportunity, but split 50/50 in the defensive zone at even strength. In the offensive zone and neutral zone at 5v5, the center was ineffective. His return also had two first period shots on net. The 3C was also a +1 from the Amadio goal. Pinto skated 15:14TOI in 23 shifts.
Goalies
Anthony Stolarz allowed 3 goals on 41 shots faced. The netminder had a 0.927 save percentage. All three goals were at even strength.
Linus Ullmark earned his first shutout with the Ottawa Senators, and ninth in his career. Ullmark stopped all 27 home team shots.
OTT Three Stars of the Game
1. Linus Ullmark — first shutout in Senators’ career
2. Josh Norris — GWG (6)
3. Artem Zub — 2 assists (2)
Quick Notes
1. Looking forward to the day Jacob Bernard-Docker is back in the lineup full time for the Senators. He has 2 apples and is a plus player. Meanwhile, Travis Hamonic is pointless through 15 games. He has played every game and has not gotten on the score sheet. The madness. Why is a guy like this still in the everyday lineup for Green and the Seantors?
2. The Senators are winning on the road. Lot of concern early on after only winning in Utah. Taking the points from other Atlantic Division points is a major plus for them on their quest for the postseason.
3. Ottawa has three point per game players: Batherson, Tkachuk, and Stützle. They haven been on a role, and are hungry for more success. Dorion signed them to great team friendly deals early in their careers. Sometimes, this can be a fatal mistake to costing management a job.
4. 300. Stützle skated in his 300th career NHL game last evening against Toronto, and sits at 267 career points (98 goals, 169 assists). I can tell you now, with 100 goal watch, he will be my follow for the next game.
Next Game
With the two game roads completed, the Senators return home for a Thursday tilt with Matvei Michkov and the Philadelphia Flyers. This is their first meeting of three of the season.
Personal Note
Hey there, Senators fans and Hockeybuzz followers. For those that aren’t aware, I am still in my first full month of covering two hockey teams at the same time between Ottawa and Columbus. This is while working a full time job and dealing with my apartment that was flooded at the end of September. Thanks for your patience and taking a chance on me, and for calling me out on my mistakes. We are human, and it’s greatly appreciated that you at least take some time out of your day to read my content, and the extra time to even point out something is incorrect.
I will address one thing that both my comment sections take and that is the AI generated material that I allegedly put out. While being in a full time tech job, I am aware of the dangers and rewards of AI technology and have never and will never use that as a way to get clicks on my writing. That’s not a promise. It’s a guarantee and fact of me.
One thing that I prefer is structure. I like breaking down with labels and using the system consistently. So yeah, I repeat the use of the lineups, players to watch, and final score labels to break my columns part to prevent ramblings. When that happens, that’s why I label that with Notes and/or Personal.
I am doing this to help spread my passion for hockey, as I have been a fan of the game and sport for 22 years. Additionally, Hockeybuzz took a chance on me years ago as a college student to write for the site then. The second team coverage is a chance for me to share and show I can do more than just one.
Ottawa has been a home to me for my entire life. My family lives around the city, and constantly comes up at the reunions; on long distance phone calls; and in day to day conversation at my family’s place. The Senators and Flyers was one of the first pro games I saw at Wachovia Center. Being so close to winning against Anaheim in ‘07 is still a memory. ‘17 against Pittsburgh still plays the Kunitz double OT goal.
Watching this rebuild from afar from Duchene and Karlsson leaving town to building Tkachuk, Sanderson, and Stützle has been one of the best follows of the 2020s, especially through the Melynk controversy.
More to come…
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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