The Ottawa Senators have been saying for some time that they've been playing the right way and just not getting the bounces. On Monday night, in a 3-2 overtime victory in Winnipeg, they got one.
Down 2-1 in the final moments of regulation, with goalie Linus Ullmark on the bench for the extra attacker, Jake Sanderson's shot from the point deflected off Mark Scheifele's stick and fluttered into the net to tie the game at 2.
Then, after some great saves at both ends, Tim Stutzle got loose on a 2-on-1 with Brady Tkachuk. Every hockey fan in Ottawa knew that Stutzle would pass it to his pal, and he did. Tkachuk one-timed a snapshot past Connor Hellebuyck for the win in front of the Winnipeg side of the Tkachuk family in attendance.
Stutzle wound up with three assists on the evening to lead the offence, and has erupted for nine points in his last four games. Connor Hellebuyck, in his second game since coming off injured reserve, made 28 of 31 saves, frustrating the Senators on several point-blank chances.
Hellebuyck has won the last two Vezina Trophies, and Linus Ullmark won the one before that, and they were both in fine form on Monday. Ullmark stopped 23 of 25 shots, including an absolute beauty on a 2-on-1 in overtime.
After a scoreless first, the Senators opened the scoring on a 2-on-1 from an unlikely duo. Tim Stutzle left the puck for Kurtis MacDermid in the neutral zone, and after crossing the blue line, the big man fed it to Nick Cousins in the high slot. His shot was partially stopped by Hellebuyck but trickled past him to open the scoring.
That ended a 44-game point drought for MacDermid that dates back to March of 2024.
Neal Pionk and Logan Stanley both scored from distance late in the second to make it 2-1, and until Sanderson's late heroics, it looked like that result might hold up. But the Senators have been overdue for a late-game bounce or two.
With the victory, the Senators improved to 15-13-4 and stand four points out of a playoff spot from both a divisional and wild card standpoint. That closes out the Senators' three-game road trip with a 2-1 mark, and they'll be back home on Thursday night, hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:00 p.m.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa