Linus Ullmark, Sens Defence Dominant in 2-0 Win over Ducks

An afternoon game, it feels like it’s been a while since we’ve had one of these. The Ottawa Senators came into this afternoon’s game looking to rebound from a critical regulation loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. The Ducks come to town off a controversial 6-4 loss in Toronto where Radko Gudas kneed Auston Matthews, leaving him with a Grade 3 MCL tear. The resulting five-game suspension for Gudas began this afternoon, with Drew Helleson getting back into the lineup for the first time in a week. The Senators, meanwhile were icing the same lineup as Wednesday, with the notable exception of Nick Jensen, who is out for the weekend with a lower body injury. Dennis Gilbert took his place in the lineup, getting into his second NHL game this season.

The Sens almost got a favorable bounce early on but Ville Husso got over to keep the puck out. They controlled the puck for most of the first ten minutes but had trouble getting it on net and challenging Husso. Ottawa did a fantastic job of pressuring Ducks skaters and limiting their space, resulting in Anaheim only registering their first shot on goal with 9:40 to go in the period.

The Ducks decided to celebrate their first shot by taking a penalty with Jansen Harkins holding Thomas Chabot. Drake Batherson almost scored fifteen seconds into the powerplay but he missed a wide open cage. Right as the powerplay expired Jordan Spence threw the puck on net and both Warren Foegele and Shane Pinto couldn’t bury the loose puck. Leo Carlsson took the puck the other way but Linus Ullmark stood tall and made the save.

With four minutes left, Artem Zub hooked Cutter Gauthier, sending the Ducks to the powerplay. Michael Amadio intercepted a cross ice pass and broke out with Ridly Greig 2-on-1 shorthanded. They didn’t score but they forced the Ducks to take a slashing penalty with Mikael Granlund going off. Husso was brilliant, making strong saves on Dylan Cozens and Tim Stützle and keeping the game scoreless after one.

The Ducks came out strong in the second with Ullmark making a pair of strong saves less than a minute in. Despite the Ducks carrying the play, it was the Sens that drew first blood after Nick Cousins intercepted a puck and got it to Pinto who passed it to Amadio who tucked it under Husso’s glove. 1-0 Ottawa.

Amadio’s goal got the Sens legs under them and placed the Anaheim net under siege. Husso stopped Greig in close, followed by chances from Cozens and Tkachuk. An odd-man rush by the Ducks resulted in the game almost being tied and Tyler Kleven taking a slashing penalty. On the penalty kill, Pinto intercepted a pass from and broke out with Stützle but Pinto found a late trailing Chabot who buried the puck past Husso with Stützle in front. 2-0 Ottawa.

After a brief and unsuccessful goalie interference challenge by Anaheim, resulting in a Ducks delay of game penalty, the Sens almost made it a three goal lead but Husso made an incredible save on Spence, doing the widest splits I’ve seen. Consecutive chances from Cozens and Tkachuk kept the Ducks trapped in their end but they couldn’t bury their chances. Late in the period, after a Ducks chance, Nick Cousins and Frank Vatrano went off on with a pair of roughing penalties, which carried over into the third period.

Lars Eller tripped Jackson LaCombe early in the third, sending the Ducks to their third powerplay. As the powerplay ended, Ullmark made a cross crease save on Beckett Sennecke. The Sens killed off the penalty and kept the Ducks to the outside, while continuing to push the play in the other direction, trying to make sure that the best comeback team in the lead didn’t make it happen again. Cutter Gauthier took a bad penalty with six minutes to go. A Stützle powerplay goal was immediately waved off for goalie interference with Travis Green electing not to challenge the call. Husso turned the puck over to Cozens but was able to prevent the easy goal. The Ducks pulled Husso with 2:30 left but the Sens shut them down. 2-0 Ottawa FINAL.

Game Notes

• Shane Pinto made some amazing defensive plays, directly resulting in both Sens goals. He was a force on the ice this afternoon and it’s nice to see him rewarded for his responsible play.
• Jordan Spence, playing in the top four with the injury to Nick Jensen looked good alongside Tyler Kleven. He made lots of amazing plays to keep the puck alive in the offensive zone and breaking up lots of Anaheim chances. He impressed on both sides of the ice today.
• Linus Ullmark had a great game and fully earned the shutout. He made lots of great saves, even with the Sens defence limiting chances against. His save on Sennecke in the third was his best of the day and made the end of the game less stressful than we’re used to.

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