Senators 3, Sharks 2
Tim Stutzle found his way to the San Jose Sharks’ net on Saturday night.
And his timing was perfect.
Stutzle went hard to the crease and pushed a loose puck across the line with 6:38 left in the third period for the game winner as the Ottawa Senators scored a 3-2 victory over the Sharks on Saturday night at the SAP Center.
“All I had to do was put it in,” Stutzle said.
Former Sharks winger Fabian Zetterlund scored against his former team and Dylan Cozens also chipped in with a goal for Ottawa, while goaltender Linus Ullmark stretched his career record against San Jose to 8-0-0.
The Senators had a ton of chances and San Jose goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made a lot of big stops to keep this one close.
“It was another gritty effort,” said coach Travis Green. “I thought we played decent in the first half of the game and then I thought we picked up the pace of our game with our tracking and our forecheck.
“We spent a lot of time in their zone. We had a lot of good looks. It was a nice win.”
Coming off a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday to start this seven-game trip, the Senators were boosted by the return of alternate captain Thomas Chabot from an upper-body muscle injury.
Unfortunately, Chabot couldn’t finish the third period after he appeared to reinjure himself while trying to take a shot late in the game.
A STOP IN SILICON VALLEY
Zetterlund was back in one of his old haunts for the first time since being dealt to the Senators by the Sharks last March. He ended an 11-game drought with his first goal since Oct. 27, and it was just his second of the season.
“It was nice to see him get rewarded,” said Green. “He’s been snakebitten.”
He fired a shot by Nedeljkovic high on the glove side with 1:22 left in the second period to tie it up 2-2. Zetterlund needed that one and the Senators did as well.
“Shooting isn’t a bad option, either,” said Zetterlund.
You could feel it coming for the Senators. They had pushed the pace and had plenty of chances.
The Senators had to find a way to try to keep sensational Sharks sophomore Macklin Celebrini at bay, along with his running mate Will Smith.
Celebrini, 19, came into this game with 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 21 games, putting himself on the radar of Team Canada for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy.
After being shut down with the man advantage in the second period, the Sharks took a 2-1 lead after some terrible defensive play by the Senators.
Alex Wennberg picked up a big rebound from Ullmark, backhanded it toward the net, and it bounced off Barclay Goodrow’s skate into the net at 7:47.
Sharks forward William Eklund reaches for the puck in front of Senators forward Shane Pinto and goaltender Linus Ullmark during the first period.
A TOUGH TEST
The Senators found out early that this San Jose team was different.
The Sharks came into this game with an 8-2-1 record in their previous 11 contests, and the Senators had their hands full.
Rugged Ottawa winger Hayden Hodgson has to finish his checks, but he was assessed a charging penalty for a hit on San Jose’s Mario Ferraro in the first period.
The Senators paid the price for that one as John Klingberg fired a shot from the point that beat Ullmark high on the stick side at 16:06 on a Sharks power play.
“I thought we took over halfway through the game,” said Chabot.
Hodgson played a big role in this game. He dropped the gloves with Ryan Reaves midway through the second period.
Ottawa got on the board first thanks to the man advantage.
Cozens scored his eighth of the season by redirecting a pass by Nedeljkovic at 7:50 of the first period. That was Cozens’ sixth point in six straight games.
The Sharks thought they had opened the scoring only 90 seconds into the game, but Senators video coaches Mike King and Josh Mallory rarely miss, so Ottawa challenged for offside.
“Smith preceded the puck into the offensive zone and was in an offside position prior to his goal,” the NHL said in its decision.
STARTING STOPPER
The Senators will only go as far as Ullmark will take them.
If you thought San Jose would be a good place to give backup Leevi Merilainen a start, the Senators wanted to stick with the starter, especially given Ullmark’s success against San Jose.
He came into this game with a 7-0-0 lifetime record versus the Sharks with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. Ullmark made his ninth start in the past 11 games.
Through 40 minutes, Ullmark had 14 stops and he was tested a lot early. He couldn’t do much on either goal, and the Senators were solid in front of him in the second period.
He also made a huge stop in the dying seconds of the third period to preserve the lead and the win.
bgarrioch@postmedia.com
Related