Senators’ offence comes alive against the Canadiens — and so did their defence

MONTREAL — Tim Stützle and Fabian Zetterlund knew it wasn’t Linus Ullmark’s fault, and they made sure to let him know by stick-tapping the back of his legs.

Moments earlier, Ullmark had made two incredible saves on the Ottawa Senators’ penalty kill, including one from the seat of his pants, only to be hard done by a Juraj Slafkovský tap-in power-play goal.

Ullmark might’ve appreciated the stick taps from his offensive teammates. But he appreciated Zetterlund’s shot more, seconds later, beating Montreal Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault and zapping away whatever momentum the Canadiens had generated in the early first period.

WHAT A SHOT! 🎯

Fabian Zetterlund gets hold of one and ties the game just seconds later! pic.twitter.com/GdqAFF16zH

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 3, 2025

“It’s huge,” Zetterlund said. “We don’t want them to get momentum.”

Zetterlund’s goal and pushback were needed in the final game of the Senators’ season-long seven-game trip, a 5-2 win over Montreal, where their offence was starting to run on fumes. The Senators scored only 33 times in November, fourth fewest among NHL teams, while averaging 2.54 per game. Even worse, after they achieved a 32.4 percent power play in October, fifth best in the NHL, it dropped to 12.1 percent in November, 28th best.

On Tuesday, the Senators shook up their lines to give themselves a jolt. Brady Tkachuk looked good alongside Dylan Cozens and Zetterlund in his last two games, so coach Travis Green bumped both players up alongside Stützle. As a result, David Perron (who played career game No. 1,200 on Tuesday) was reunited with Cozens and Drake Batherson on the second line.

Their top-six combinations worked, particularly their top line with Tkachuk and Zetterlund both earning a goal and an assist in the win. Ottawa, as a whole, dominated in high-danger chances (17-3 at five-on-five) and won the Corsi battle, too (53.85-46.15) according to Natural Stat Trick. The Senators also shut down the Canadiens’ high-end talent, stifling their possessions with an aggressive forecheck.

“I liked how we played away from the puck. I like how we hounded the puck. It was a good game,” Green said.

“I think it showed that once we got pucks behind them and cycled,” Tkachuk said. “And held on to pucks especially versus the man-on-man (defence), we created a lot of chances tonight.

“Best defence is offence and staying aggressive.”

An important result for Tkachuk and Zetterlund for myriad reasons. Tkachuk has looked good since returning from thumb surgery, and that continued against the Canadiens. He just now has a goal to show for it. For Zetterlund, he now has four goals and six games and is starting to turn up. The Senators signed him this offseason hoping he would generate offence.

On a more solemn note, Zetterlund told the media after the game he was playing with a heavy heart. His grandmother died days earlier. That goal was more than just a momentum-killer for Zetterlund.

“It was for her,” Zetterlund said.

On the back end, the Senators’ defence impressed, combining for 6 points, including goals from Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub. Sanderson called Tuesday’s game one of the “best games of the season” for his team’s defensive group.

“We were skating the puck out of the zone,” Sanderson said. “We were breaking out pucks really cleanly. (Tyler Kleven) played awesome. He was so physical and aggressive. I thought everybody just had a great game.”

And when they needed to keep the Canadiens at bay in the third, they did it. Days earlier, the Senators weren’t happy with their final 20 minutes of play against the St. Louis Blues, blowing a 3-1 lead in Tkachuk’s return. The wheels fell off against the Dallas Stars a few nights ago. But the Senators staved off the Canadiens and added Tkachuk’s insurance goal for good measure.

“I think the difference with tonight was the positivity throughout the room,” Tkachuk said. “I think everybody just tried focusing on just one shift at a time, but what they can control. The St. Louis (game), we didn’t play a great game at all. And Dallas, it is what it is. Tonight, I think it shows the maturity that can easily get into a trend, into a cycle. But we really made a commitment to one another that we’re going to get the job done tonight.”

One final note, even if it didn’t result in a goal, the Senators’ power play looked a little better, too. Just like the penalty kill was once a topic of conversation, the power play has been, too. Entering the game, the Senators had one power-play goal in seven opportunities. The thinking was “keeping it simple.”

“Just not forcing plays,” Sanderson told The Athletic hours before puck drop. “I think (we’ve) got to do a little bit better of a job of just getting in the zone, getting cleaner. Not having to scrap for pucks for 20-30 seconds and then you’re set up.”

That issue of cleaner zone entries was an issue against the Stars on Sunday, a team with the 21st-best penalty kill. On the Senators’ first power-play opportunity of the evening, it started with an offensive zone faceoff. It was lost and eventually cleared. It took the Senators over 40 seconds to re-enter the zone and set up.

On Tuesday, the Senators did a much better job of sustaining offensive zone pressure and entering the zone quickly. Had it not been for a goal-line clearing save by Canadiens defender Mike Matheson, among a few other close calls, they would have scored one. Instead, they ended 0-for-2.

The Senators can at least take solace in the fact their offence was still effective against the Canadiens, at a time when they needed a victory after a lengthy trip. And they did it while winning battles in dirty areas, imposing themselves physically, cycling in the offensive zone, and taking away possessions from the opposition.

If it weren’t for their special teams, we’d be talking about one of the most complete efforts of the Senators’ season. And you could still make the argument for it.

“That’s the Senators when we’re at our best,” Tkachuk said. “It’s not pretty. It’s greasy. It’s the wall battles, (getting) to the net, getting shots to the net. And just playing that stingy game. I know we’ve shown a lot that we can do that and we’ve been consistent with it. The last couple of games (we) haven’t been great with that. But that’s definitely a big part of our identity, is being hard to play against in that way.”