Forsberg Shuts Down the Devils, Senators Win 2-1

After a 4-0-1 stretch of games started by Leevi Meriläinen and the best win of the season on Saturday, Anton Forsberg made his first start since January 9th when the Sens lost 4-0 to the Buffalo Sabres. Forsberg hadn't won since November 25th against the Calgary Flames and hadn't allowed fewer than three goals since his shutout against the Seattle Kraken on November 2nd. So you might have said that confidence in him was lacking heading into today's matinee against the New Jersey Devils.

The first period did not see the Sens get off to the type of start they’d surely hoped for. The Devils dominated, outshooting Ottawa 17-2 and out-attempting them 30-7 (with just one powerplay). Despite all that pressure, Forsberg stood tall and kept things tied at 0 after 20 minutes. The skaters looked extremely lethargic, but 0-0 was fine to start.

Fortunately, Ottawa came back ready to get involved in the game as they ended up out-shooting the Devils 10-7 in the second period. The strangest thing happened mid-way through the period, as the Devils had supposedly taken their first penalty of the game after high-sticking Brady Tkachuk. Although the stick clipped his helmet, it didn't get his face, and Tkachuk actually told the refs not to call it:

I don't think I have seen that before, but hopefully it is good karma for Tkachuk moving forward this season. Not long thereafter, Zack Ostapchuk put the Senators on the board, with his first NHL goal. I didn't realize he hadn't even scored yet, but Gord Miller made sure to acknowledge the moment:

It wasn't the prettiest goal, but the Senators needed it. Unfortunately, after keeping the Devils at bay through almost two periods, Forsberg couldn't keep the shutout for any longer. Just 1:18 after taking a 1-0 lead, Tomas Tatar tied things up for New Jersey. He took Curtis Lazar's pass in front of the net and was able to get his own rebound after Tim Stützle and Thomas Chabot collided. Forsberg had no chance on the rebound as Tatar had all the time in the world.

Considering their awful first period, a 1-1 tie heading into the third period was more than acceptable. Then early into the final frame, the most unlikely player helped give the Senators the lead again: Artem Zub. It was his first non-empty net goal of the season, and it was quite a snipe from the point on Jacob Makstrom:

After that goal, it was an impressive defensive performance from the Senators. They had two chances on the powerplay to give themselves a cushion but were unable to do so. Nonetheless, including time with the empty net, New Jersey had just eight shot attempts over the final 17 minutes of the game — which is exactly what you want to see from a team protecting a one-goal lead. It would have been nice to see Ottawa score more in this game, but they did what they had to do to win, and Forsberg stood tall until the end to give the Senators a 2-1 win. It's their second win in a row amidst a 5-0-1 stretch for them. They sit at 24-18-4 now. What a weekend.

Notable Performances:

• The clear first star of the game was Forsberg, as he stopped 25/26 shots. Ottawa did well to limit the high-danger chances as there were only 1.92 expected goals against, but that's still more than what he allowed. He's the biggest reason they won.
• I'm happy for Ostapchuk on his first goal, he desperately needed that considering it was his 39th NHL game. I hope he carves out a role for himself on the fourth line.
• Nikolas Matinpalo continues to look steady on the third pairing with Tyler Kleven. He had a 59.04 xGF% tonight and has not stood out as looking lost at any point.
• Brady Tkachuk was held pointless for a seventh straight game, which is unheard of. He was making plays and involved in the play so he'll get it going, but it's quite shocking to see the lack of offense from him lately.
• The all-strength expected goal percentages for the Senators per period were as follows: 10.21%, 73.88%, 82.64%. Talk about a complete 180 after a rough start. It’s exactly the type of resilience the team is always preaching.

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