Senators punctuate recent rise with statement win over Wild
Thanks to strong special teams, surging superstars and shutdown defence, the Senators suddenly sit third in the Atlantic. And so Saturday’s 6-0 decision over the Wild wasn’t just a win — it was a statement.
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OTTAWA — Sometimes, a win is just a win.
But the Ottawa Senators‘ 6-0 thumping of the Minnesota Wild on Saturday was something more than that.
It was a statement.
“Great effort from the drop of the puck,” said head coach Travis Green. “Really good 60-minute game.”
Outshooting a team 52-16 is as close as you can come to perfection in an imperfect game. Now, a combination of special teams, their best players stepping up and incredible defensive hockey have led the Senators to four straight wins, a 9-2-1 mark in their last 12 games and third place in the Atlantic. Yes, third.
On Saturday, it started with special teams and a unit that has been thriving.
Josh Norris’ short-handed goal to open the scoring was his second in as many games on the penalty kill. It marked the third straight game the team scored while down a man, pushing Ottawa into a tie for third in the NHL with eight short-handed goals.
“I think the only way to get offence short-handed is if you’re structurally sound,” Norris told Sportsnet.ca. “And I think it’s not a secret, I think we’ve done a good job (defending) entries lately. That’s frustrating for teams to get in. And I think we’re being aggressive and not making it easy for them to get in.”
The Senators have been pouncing on turnovers and using their speed to create chances, with Norris, Shane Pinto and Ridly Greig all converting over the past three contests.
“It’s a lot on instincts,” Greig said. “I mean for power-play guys, I feel like they’re probably not expecting it a lot of times.”
The penalty kill hasn’t always been clicking — in fact, it was among the worst in the league to begin the season. But since Dec. 11, the Senators are humming at 81.8 per cent, which is 10th-best in the league in that stretch.
“We had a big meeting I remember, I’m not sure when it was,” Greig told Sportsnet.ca. “But we wanted to be more aggressive. And since then, our PK has been a lot better.”
Still, you can’t rely on short-handed goals to win games. You need your stars to show up — specifically, in the Sens’ case, Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk.
Ottawa’s two best forwards combined for a dominant 35 points in the first 13 games of the year, but they were split in mid-November to help other Senators lines generate offence. But after a January scoring slump which included five shutouts, Tkachuk and Stutzle were reunited alongside Claude Giroux last Sunday against Utah. The goals have flowed ever since.
Against Minnesota, it started when Tkachuk set up Stutzle with a backhand feed for a tap-in to give the Senators a 2-0 lead. The duo has five seasons of chemistry together and it’s no surprise Ottawa has turned around its scoring funk since their reunion — and just in time.
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Last Sunday, in their first time game together since November, Tkachuk scored to snap his career high 10-game pointless streak and Giroux potted the winning goal, his first goal in 13 games. Since the line was assembled, Ottawa has scored 14 goals in three games, with the Stutzle-Tkachuk duo combining for 10 points.
Later, Stutzle got entangled with Ryan Hartman, leading to both players being penalized. The brouhaha escalated when Hartman threw Stutzle to the ice off a faceoff in the third period and was handed a match penalty.
Stutzle escaped the incident with nothing more than a gash, and returned for the ensuing power play, during which Tkachuk scored on a beautiful wrister before the German set up a goal for Drake Batherson. It made the score 6-0 and put the game well out of hand.
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“Three good players,” Green said of the Stutzle-Tkachuk-Giroux line. “We’ve been looking for a little bit of chemistry within that top six. I like what I’ve seen out of it. And they obviously had a good game tonight.”
The trio had 15 shot attempts compared to only one against versus Minnesota. For the season at five-on-five, the line has generated 142 shot attempts and just 67 against, according to MoneyPuck.com.
“I think we all bring something different to the table. It’s been great,” said Stutzle. “Now it’s just getting back the chemistry together and creating chances and playing good defensively.”
The Senators have their top line. Don’t mess with it.
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Sanderson shutting it down
On the blue line, Jake Sanderson‘s elevated play also shone through on Saturday. On the penalty kill, Sanderson’s shiftiness has helped his team escape the zone and led to transition chances for forwards. Sanderson has four short-handed points this season.
Earlier in the season, Sanderson told Sportsnet.ca he was not satisfied with his game, but was focused more on defence. Now, he’s slowly becoming one of the best shutdown defencemen in the NHL. Sanderson and his partner Artem Zub are sixth in the NHL at 1.64 expected goals allowed per 60 minutes, according to Moneypuck.com.
Sanderson’s eyes lit up when he was told that statistic. The pair have only been on the ice together for 13 goals against in 339 minutes of five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick. Not by coincidence, the Senators lead the league with eight shutouts.
On Saturday, Sanderson and Zub shut down any Minnesota transition attempt and sent the puck quickly the other way thanks to Sanderson’s instinctual ease and fluid skating ability.
“I think at the start of the season, I wasn’t feeling myself,” Sanderson told Sportsnet.ca earlier this week. “And right now I feel pretty good. My energy is really good on the ice. I haven’t scored in a while, but I’m getting a lot of chances, and that’s all I can ask.”
Now he’s scoring, with goals in back-to-back games. On the power play in the third period, Sanderson launched a shot through a screen to give the Senators a 4-0 lead.
“I’m just trying to have more of a shooting mentality,” said Sanderson.
After a four-point night including three helpers, Sanderson is on his way to surpassing his career high in points.
“I think Sandy is just one of those players that is just really good at everything,” said Green. “And he’s still young, his game is still growing, the beginning of the year his plus/minus wasn’t where he wanted it to be, but he’s just an excellent player.”
Notes
• Senators fans booed the U.S. anthem last night, garnering widespread attention after American president Donald Trump slapped tariffs on Canadian goods and prime minister Justin Trudeau responded in kind.
• Josh Norris left the game and did not return after a collision late in the third period. Green said there was no update on his status.
• Nick Cousins had knee surgery earlier this week. Green said he will be out for “months.”
Leevi-tating
Another day, another Leevi Merilainen shutout.
With Linus Ullmark’s return appearing imminent, it will be interesting to see how the Senators handle Merilainen.
The future between the pipes is Merilainen, so the Senators could perhaps prioritize his playing time and send him down to the AHL. Then again, his play of late makes it difficult to remove him from the NHL crease.
At the very least, the Senators can roll with a netminder duo of Ullmark and Merilianen next season.
