The Ottawa Senators found a way to win on Thursday night.

That’s better than the alternative.

The Senators’ recovery from a slow start to this regular season continued as they were able to grind out a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in front of 16,390 at the Canadian Tire Centre.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Senators picked up an important two points to move their record to 3-4-1 through eight games. Olle Lycksell and Michael Amadio chipped in with goals for the Senators on Flyers’ netminder Dan Vladar.

“It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but some games you’re going to have to win that way,” said centre Lars Eller, who set up Lycksell for the winner. “We had some looks on the powerplay and on 5-on-5 where we had chances to score more goals.

“But they didn’t go in. When it’s not going in for you, it’s important that you shut the door behind you. This was a good building block for us.”

Nothing has come easy for the Senators early this year, and this was no different.

There is still cause for concern because the Senators lacked consistency throughout these 60 minutes, but Linus Ullmark recovered from a difficult start to move his record to 3-3-1 in seven starts.

HOME ON THE RANGE

The Senators closed out this four-game homestand with a 2-1-1 record as they prepare to face the Washington Capitals on Saturday on the road.

This start hasn’t been what the Senators want, but they are creeping back to playing the way they were expected to start the year. The Senators pushed the pace after falling behind early.

The club was 2-0-1 against the Flyers last year, and if there is a battle down the stretch, you can expect Philly to be one of the teams in the mix. The importance of these games can’t be underestimated.

Through 40 minutes, the Senators were up 2-1 and had outshot the Flyers 23-16. The much-maligned penalty kill held Philadelphia to 0-for-3, which turned out to be a key in this one.

But the Senators were 0-for-5 on the power play, and that has been an area they’ve excelled at this season.

A LITTLE REVENGE

The fourth line also contributed to this one.

It was nice for Lycksell to score against his former team. He beat Vladar down low to give the Senators a 2-1 lead at 3:05 of the second. It was nice for Lycksll because his family was in town from Sweden to see him play.

“It was a big relief,” said Lycksell. “I have some family over from Sweden. It was the first goal, and a great play by Eller to find me. It’s really special (to score against Philly). I tried to hold back a bit, but the emotion took over.”

Eller said he could “sense he was coming back there. It was the way I was positioned; it seemed like the right decision rather than shoot.”

Amadio tied it up 1-1 with 12:03 left in the first. He beat Vladar through the five-hole for his first of the year.

Coach Travis Green opted to stick with the same lineup that dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

That made sense because through 60 minutes the club played well, and got a point. But the line of Dylan Cozens with Tim Stutzle on the left and Drake Batherson were only okay.

That trio didn’t produce a lot in this one.

Green felt the best bet was to leave the lines alone. Shane Pinto looked good with Amadio and Claude Giroux. Ridly Greig, between Nick Cousins and David Perron, was solid.

STICKING WITH ULLMARK

Ullmark made his fourth straight start, and he didn’t look good on the opening goal by the Flyers, only 29 seconds into the game.

Tyson Foerster came off the bench and fired a shot from the top of the slot that beat Ullmark high on the stick side. That’s the seventh time in eight games the Senators have given up the opening goal.

Fortunately, Ullmark got better from there.

“That was a hard-fought game,” said Green. “I liked our game.”

He had to come up big in the final 30 minutes because the Flyers were pushing the pace and pressing to tie it. He made a big glove stop on Travis Sanheim with seven minutes left in the third.

Ullmark made a big stop on Matvei Michkov on a shorthanded breakaway late in the first. Moments later, the officials went upstairs to see if a puck bounced over the top of Ullmark into the net, but actually landed on the part of his body that was in front of the goal line.

He came into this game with a 3.80 goals-against average and a .854 save percentage. Against the Flyers, Ullmark had posted a 6-2-2 record in 10 career starts with a 2.79 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

Leevi Merilainen was dressed as the backup after being recalled from the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville.

Merilainen went down to get some playing time and finished with a 1-1-0 record after securing a victory over the Laval Rocket on Wednesday. Mads Sogaard was returned to the AHL.

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bgarrioch@postmedia.com