The Ottawa Senators iced a revamped lineup for their final meeting of the season with the Dallas Stars, shuffling their forward trios and getting a boost with the return of Ridly Greig. The new combinations were meant to provide a spark, but it would prove to be a long evening in Texas.
The Senators came out with purpose in the opening frame, trading chances with the Stars in what shaped up to be an evenly matched period. Linus Ullmark was sharp early, making several key saves to keep the game scoreless.
Ottawa’s penalty kill faced its first test of the night when Michael Amadio was sent off for tripping, putting the league’s best power play to work. But the Senators were up to the challenge, clogging shooting lanes and forcing Dallas to the perimeter. When the Stars did find a quality look or two, Ullmark was there to slam the door.
The Senators got their own chance with the man advantage when Alexander Petrovic tripped Shane Pinto. Greig generated a strong opportunity, but the power play couldn’t capitalize as Dallas managed to hold possession in the Ottawa zone to run out the clock.
At five-on-five, the bottom six looked particularly dangerous, creating several quality rebound chances that kept Casey DeSmith busy. Through twenty minutes, neither team had broken through, setting up what promised to be a tightly contested battle. That stalemate wouldn’t last long.
Early in the second, a shot from Ilya Lyubushkin found traffic in front, bouncing off Brady Tkachuk and then Mavrik Bourque (playing in his 100th career game) before finding its way past Ullmark, who had no chance on the deflection. 1-0 Dallas.
A little deflection never hurt anyone 🚨 pic.twitter.com/bY3iTzOl4S
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 1, 2025
The Senators responded quickly with sustained offensive zone pressure. A slick passing sequence between Nick Cousins and David Perron set up Jake Sanderson for a snapshot that beat DeSmith five-hole to level the score at 1-1. It was the result of an excellent shift, the type to give Ottawa a much-needed boost.
Sandy sneaks one five-hole 🖐#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/7V9060ckCV
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 1, 2025
That momentum vanished in just 44 seconds. Stützle coughed up the puck in his own zone, and Jason Robertson (playing in his 400th career game, continuing the milestone theme) capitalized on the gift. With time and space down the middle lane, Robertson picked his spot and beat Ullmark clean to restore the Dallas lead at 2-1.
It’s almost like it’s guaranteed 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/JzvQQ38Z98
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 1, 2025
Another Senators power play came and went unsuccessfully before the Stars extended their lead. Defensive zone pressure cracked the Sens as Kleven got caught a step behind on the play, and Wyatt Johnston finished the sequence with a tidy short-side shot. 3-1.
Threading the needle 🎯 pic.twitter.com/FZLbNE6N8w
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 1, 2025
Things took an unfortunate turn when Fabian Zetterlund delivered what appeared to be a routine hit that sent Lian Bichsel awkwardly into the boards. The Stars defenseman had to be helped off the ice without putting weight on his left leg, a worrying sight for Dallas. They would go on to play the remainder of the game down a defender.
The final minutes of the period were spent with Ottawa hemmed in their own zone more often than not. There was a late push by the Senators, including a good chance for Cousins, which ultimately came to nothing as the horn sounded on a frustrating middle frame.
The Senators started the final period with a power play opportunity when Miro Heiskanen was called for holding Claude Giroux. It was unremarkable stuff until Jordan Spence took a tripping penalty with 30 seconds remaining on the man advantage, negating the remainder of the power play.
The brief 4-on-4 stretch passed without incident, but once Dallas went to the man advantage, Mikko Rantanen bounced the puck off Ullmark’s pads right to Johnston, who buried it to make the score 4-1.
How ’bout the mitts on this guy 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Cl1U5ltCjc
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 1, 2025
The rout was on. Jamie Benn tipped home a Rantanen shot a few minutes later, and once again, Ullmark had no chance on the play. 5-1 Dallas, and the game was well and truly out of reach.
Bing bong, indeed pic.twitter.com/NeJGRbfj7n
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 1, 2025
Dylan Cozens and Roope Hintz got into a scrap that earned both players roughing penalties, with Cozens picking up an extra two minutes for his troubles. The Senators successfully killed off the penalty.
They weren’t as fortunate on their next trip to the kill. Amadio sat for tripping, and Dallas made no mistake. A tidy passing sequence set up Johnston to complete his hat trick, making it 6-1 and putting the final nail in Ottawa’s coffin.
Throw ’em for Johnny 🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢🧢 pic.twitter.com/kwp34b89hc
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 1, 2025
The rest of the period was little more than a formality as the Stars cruised to a dominant victory. Next up is Montreal, where the Senators will try to keep the road trip record above .500.
Game NotesIt’s worth remembering the Senators aren’t at full strength. Thomas Chabot’s absence was particularly noticeable tonight, as the bottom four struggled throughout the game.Jake Sanderson’s goal moved him into fifth place all-time in points among defensemen in franchise history, a quietly impressive milestone for the blueliner. He was one of the few Sens who looked good tonight, continuing to prove himself as one of Ottawa’s best players – arguably their very best.The power play continues to be ice cold, going 0-for-3 on the night and extending a troubling recent trend. Capitalizing on even one or two of these opportunities could be the difference between wins and losses.It was an uncharacteristic bad game for Tim Stützle, who was responsible for a costly turnover and couldn’t find his rhythm. The coaching staff tried reuniting him with Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson starting in the second period, but the chemistry wasn’t there.While Ullmark’s save percentage won’t look pretty in the box score, it’s hard to pin this loss entirely on him. He could have perhaps stolen the game with a few more saves, but the breakdowns in front of him were unacceptable.Game Flow
Heat Map