Last season, no NHL team had more shutouts than the Ottawa Senators, who tied for the league lead with 10. This season, they've been a little harder to come by.
But on Thursday night, Linus Ullmark stopped all 23 saves he faced, including some absolute beauties as the Senators defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 at Canadian Tire Centre. Not only was it Ottawa's first shutout of the season, but it was also only the fourth time all season that they've allowed one goal or less.
Brady Tkachuk scored twice to help extend the Penguins winless skid to seven (0-3-4). David Perron and Claude Giroux also scored for the Senators, while Drake Batherson had two assists.
The Senators have been saying for a while that they like their game, and had hoped the breaks would start to come their way. They got a lucky break to tie the game late in Winnipeg on Monday.
And as another sign that the clouds may be lifting, they got some more breaks on the Perron and Giroux goals against Pittsburgh.
Perron's goal seemed to bounce in off his skate or shin pad following a bad-angle shot from Jordan Spence. Giroux's goal came after Michael Amadio got the puck caught up in his skates, and as he tried to find it, it clicked around from blade to blade, and as it did, he unknowingly made a great move to beat his man and get it to Giroux. G then blindly spun and swept it at the net and beat Arturs Silovs between the legs.
That said, the Senators were fully deserving of the victory with one of their best games of the season. They improved their record to 16-13-4, and despite their 3-1 mark in the past four games, they're still three points out of a playoff spot.
Whether they're targeting the top three in the Atlantic or a Wild Card spot, there are a lot of teams ahead of them. The Sens' mediocre start has put them in a difficult but not insurmountable spot.
The Senators will catch another break in their next game on Saturday afternoon at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. They won't have to face Connor Bedard, who's out with a reported separated shoulder. Bedard torched the Senators with his first NHL hat trick in Chicago's 7-3 victory back in October.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa
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