The Ottawa Senators committed an act of highway robbery in the City of Brotherly Love on Saturday.
Forced to work overtime for the fourth straight game, the Senators ended their two-game winless skid in style after Tim Stutzle’s second of the game secured a 3-2 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Drake Batherson’s perfect pass to Stutzle to set up the winner at 3:19 of the extra period allowed the Senators to save face after the National Hockey League club squandered a 2-0 lead and hung on for dear life to get the win.
“It was an unbelievable pass,” Stutzle said. “When (Batherson) has the puck, I just have to drive the net and he gets it to me.”
Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark was the difference with 20 stops. Michael Amadio also chipped in with his fifth goal of the season. The Senators registered only 13 shots on Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson, including only one in the third period and the shot in overtime that resulted in the winner by Stutzle.
Talk about making the most of your chances.
“We played a little bit too defensively in the third, we didn’t really want the puck, it felt like,” Stutzle said. “They had a good push, but Linus kept us in it. He was unreal the whole night, really patient and fun to watch.
“It’s a big two points.”
Senators forward Tim Stützle, centre, celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime with Drake Batherson (19) and Thomas Chabot (72) on Saturday.
CHANGES MADE
Senators head coach Travis Green moved the furniture around by switching up his lines.
Ridly Greig skated with Stutzle and David Perron, while Fabian Zetterlund was with Dylan Cozens and Batherson. Zetterlund had been skating on the fourth line, but finished the Senators’ previous game in Boston with a bigger role.
But there wasn’t a lot of time or space. It was tight-checking, and scoring chances were hard to come by.
“It was a tight-checking game,” Green said. “Both teams defended hard. I really liked our first. I thought we came out fast, and they found a way to push back like a good team will do in their own building.”
The Senators don’t help themselves; they went 25 minutes 43 seconds without registering a shot on Ersson: from 12:09 of the second period until 18:34 of the third.
“We found a way to get two points. It wasn’t one of those games where there was a lot of offence either way, but it was nice to get the win,” Green said.
The Flyers tied it 2-2 with 10:05 left in the third period. That came after the Senators squandered another power play — they have not scored in any of their past 15 power plays.
Philly’s Matvei Michkov closed the gap to 2-1 at 11:23 of the second period, when he battled his way by defenceman Jake Sanderson, circled in front of the net and beat Ullmark with a shot on the glove side.
Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark makes a save as defenceman Jake Sanderson, rear, and the Flyers’ Noah Cates (27) race for the puck during the second period of Saturday’s contest.
BACK TO ULLMARK
Ullmark made his fifth straight start and his 13th in 15 games. He had been solid with 22 stops in a 2-1 victory at home over the Flyers on Oct. 23 at home.
He didn’t look good on the winning goal by Pavel Zacha in Boston on Thursday, but the Senators will swim or sink with Ullmark in the net. In this one, the Senators wouldn’t have stood a chance without him.
Basically, the club was outplayed completely after a strong first period, and Ullmark finished with a .909 save percentage in this game.
The Senators were outshot 10-5 in the second period after both teams registered only 10 shots combined in the first.
Ullmark made three good stops on a power play by the Flyers early in the second.
BETTER START
The first period was one of Ottawa’s best of the season. The club had its skating legs and was creating chances early. The effort was the exact opposite of what we saw early against the Bruins.
The Senators wasted no time getting on the board.
Amadio scored for the third game in a row and extended the club’s lead to 2-0 at 6:19 of the first period. He beat Ersson with a backhand pass, and the Flyers hadn’t even recorded a shot on goal yet.
Stutzle opened the scoring by firing a blast by Ersson high on the stick side at 5:14. That was Stutzle’s seventh goal of the season, and only the fourth time the Senators had opened the scoring this season.
“It was really good,” Stutzle told TSN’s Gord Miller after the first period. “We were putting pucks behind them.”
From there, the Flyers clamped the doors virtually shut.
The Senators should have known they weren’t safe because the Flyers already have six comeback wins this season.
From there, this turned out to be a physical battle. Philly’s Noah Juulsen and Cozens got into it with a couple of big hits on each other.
The decision to start Ullmark means Leevi Merilainen is likely to be in net when the Senators face the Utah Mammoth at home on Sunday beginning at 7 p.m.
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