Senators need Tim Stutzle to have shoot-first mentality in playoffs
Sunday’s game was a step in the right direction for Tim Stutzle by scoring two goals, including the overtime winner. The Senators will need their No. 1 centre to carry that shoot-first mentality into the playoffs.
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Shooters shoot, they say.
But what if they are natural passers?
That has been the conundrum for Tim Stutzle, a self-proclaimed passer.
“My whole career, I’ve been more of a passer,” Stutzle told Sportsnet.ca earlier this month. “I like setting up guys more than probably scoring myself.”
However, eventually you need to shoot. That’s exactly what Stutzle did on Sunday, scoring two electric goals, including the overtime winner against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 4-3 victory.
“Just give it to the German, right?” Thomas Chabot said post-game.
Yes, that’s right.
But, until Sunday, Stutzle was struggling to score, failing to register a goal in his previous eight games. Meanwhile, not enough of his shots were ending up on target either.
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This season Stutzle has averaged 1.91 shots per-game, the fewest of his entire career.
That’s a trend that cannot continue heading into the playoffs if Ottawa wants to be successful. Your No. 1 centre needs to shoot to score.
Which is why Sunday’s game for Stutzle was a promising sign.
In the second period, Chabot launched a pass to Stutzle, who was slapping his stick on the ice as impatiently as an Ottawa resident waiting for the Light Rail train to arrive. Instead of trying to create for others, Stutzle did it for himself, dangling past Egor Zamula for a vintage highlight-reel goal.
His coach would have been impressed, but recently Travis Green hasn’t been impressed with “the German.”
A short time ago, Green pulled Stutzle into a meeting. The message was clear: “Play better.”
“He’s a young player that is used to putting points on the board,” said Green about the meeting.
“Sometimes, when you are not scoring, you can go the wrong direction.”
Ottawa’s star heard the message clearly.
“I think the games before that, I wasn’t as confident,” said Stutzle. “I had a meeting with Greener. He wasn’t too happy with me. So, I think that fuelled me a little bit more too.”
“When I’m confident, I’m shooting more,” said Stutzle.
Green’s focus for Stutzle was to maintain his defensive responsibility while also shooting more often. That’s what an elite No. 1 centre is expected to do.
“Like shooting the puck is not a bad option, especially when you get to the playoffs,” said Green, emphasizing where he’d like Stutzle to improve.
Ottawa’s superstar centre even focalized the problem earlier this month.
“Start shooting more might be a good start for me,” Stutzle said on April 2.
To the eye test, it felt that Stutzle constantly passed instead of shooting. Even his one assist in the eight games before Sunday’s matinee had that pass-first mentality smell to it.
The Senators can only go so far in the playoffs if Stutzle isn’t firing on all cylinders and on goal. A welcome sign was that not only did he have two goals on Sunday, but he had six shot attempts, which was the second most on the team.
“Not going to be a difference (maker) on every shift,” said Green about Stutzle. “Sometimes you have to simplify your game to have success. And I thought he did that a little bit tonight.
Nevertheless, even without the offensive production of late, Stutzle hasn’t cheated the game defensively.
For context, Stutzle’s defensive metrics have gone up significantly this season — when he is on the ice, he ranks 150th out of 910 skaters with 2.29 expected goals allowed per 60 minutes at five-on-five, according to Evolving Hockey. Meanwhile, Stutzle is ranked seventh in the league in wins-above-replacement, with the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nikita Kucherov and David Pastrnak ahead of him.
“I don’t think we are even scratching the surface,” said Green. Meanwhile, post-game Green explained that players don’t hit their peak until they reach 25 or 26 years old. Stutzle is 23.
However, what might explain the downtick in Stutzle’s goal-scoring prowess from his 39-goal season in 2022-23?
Stutzle provided his answer to Sportsnet.ca earlier this month.
“I think we don’t get as many scoring chances, because we play better defensively,” he reasoned.
“And I don’t even know how many breakaways I had the year where I scored 39 goals, probably almost 10 or 12 breakaways, so (now) we don’t cheat at all. And I think that’s really good for our team game, and we just play the right way.”
It’s a winning formula.
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Stutzle deserves a ton of credit for Ottawa finally snapping their eight-year playoff drought.
Another promising sign about Ottawa’s star centre: his leadership.
A not-so-often discussed attribute for Stutzle, but he has taken a step as a figurehead on this youthful Senators team.
The prime example of Stutzle’s leadership was when Ottawa acquired Fabian Zetterlund. Stutzle invited Zetterlund to live with him, despite never once meeting each other — an incredibly kind and classy gesture.
“I would have liked that if I went to a new team, and didn’t really know anyone,” Stutzle told Sportsnet.ca.
The two have become fast friends. They play FIFA together and clean up after each other.
“I mean, it’s kind of messy sometimes, so I have to clean it up. You know?” Zetterlund joked about living with Stutzle.
After a slow start, Zetterlund has two goals in the last three games, including a rocket in the third period against Philadelphia. Stutzle had three points on Sunday, with a literal and metaphorical assist in helping Zetterlund acclimatize to Ottawa.
Even his roommate knows what Stutzle needs to do. “Shoot the puck, eh, Juice,” yelled Zetterlund to Stutzle post-game.
Yell and you shall receive. In overtime, Stutzle called game. Without hesitation Stutzle fired the puck on goal off a beautiful saucer pass from Drake Batherson to finish off the Flyers. It was a play that maybe Stutzle would have tried to pass off before.
If Stutzle’s shooting mentality continues through into the playoffs, the Senators could be looking at a deep run.
