Pinto's Two Goals Lead Senators past Hurricanes 3-0

The Sens have had their struggles in Carolina over the years, but they didn't show it tonight, looking very composed and in control during a 3-0 win over the Hurricanes. Shane Pinto notched two goals, while Nick Jensen (1G 1A), Nick Cousins (2A), and Michael Amadio (2A) each also had two-point games. Linus Ullmark was money, making 32 saves for his second shutout of the season.

The first period was pretty quiet for both sides. Linus Ullmark made a couple of good saves, the Sens killed off two penalties (a good call on Nick Cousins and then a really soft call on Jacob Bernard-Docker) with relative ease, and Brady Tkachuk threw a big hit on Brent Burns late. Not a bad road period at all, especially given the competition.

The second period saw the Sens open the scoring, with Pinto firing home a wrister short-side for only his second goal of the year. I know I criticize Nick Cousins a lot, but he certainly knows how to be an effective screen and he was perfectly placed for this goal.

The Sens could've been up 2-0 on a mid-period powerplay if not for some heroics by Pyotr Kochetkov, turning away Tim Stützleand Drake Batherson in quick succession.

That pretty much did it for the second, though Carolina did put on pressure in the final 90 seconds. Ullmark was up to the task though; he always looks so calm and unflustered in net.

The third period felt tentative and cagey, which was funny considering the Hurricanes did need a goal. They did get a couple OK chances, but the urgency they'd ended the second with was gone. You can never totally shut down a team as good as Carolina, but the Sens were doing a fantastic job of taking the life out of the game. The Canes got some more chances after the 10-minute mark, but then Drake Batherson nearly scored a goal, if not for the heroics of Jaccob Slavin. The pressure forced Carolina into another penalty.

Ottawa didn't score on the powerplay, but then Nick Jensen, of all people, was allowed to walk in and put one under Kochetkov who couldn't decide if he wanted to play it in the butterfly or standing up and Jensen slid it five hole.

Rod Brind'Amour pulled the goalie with nearly 4 minutes left, but his team couldn't score. The Sens played pretty good defence, and even scored once but it was ridiculously offside, before Pinto put it away with his second of the night into the empty net. It was a solid team effort, an important win, and a chance, once again, for the Sens to get their first three-game win streak of the season, tomorrow night against the Penguins. Are the Sens gaining some real momentum?

Thoughts:

• Pinto being stuck on just one goal coming into this game is a great example of how much of a struggle it's been for Ottawa's depth scoring. You can make arguments about how he's been stuck with linemates who can't score, sure, but he gets second-unit powerplay time and is too talented to only have three goals (and five points) in 21 games. The Sens badly need this to be the start of a breakout.
• On paper, Claude Giroux and Josh Norris don't make sense as a PK forward duo. Neither is know for their speed, and they are mostly out there to win faceoffs. And yet they're very effective. Yes, it's nice that Norris's shoulder is doing great. I think a secondary development is that it's also been nice that he's become a reliable PKer.
• Travis Hamonic shoots the puck A LOT in the offensive zone. I made this comment on the S7 socials, and then Micah McCurdy responded with this gem:

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— Micah McCurdy (@hockeyviz.com) December 13, 2024 at 7:16 PM

• Someone else made the point though that this keeps the puck in deep, rather than risking Hamonic getting caught a in a foot race bobbling the puck at the point. I'm not going to make a comment about whether this is good or bad. It's just a fun case where my eyes and the stats really line up.
• One thing I noticed about JBD tonight is that I think his hockey IQ is improving. A few times I saw him read the play as it was unfolding and get into a lane or cut off a pass. On the flip side, I think this is where Tyler Kleven is struggling. He seems to get hyperfocused on the puck in his own end, especially when the other team is on the rush, and will skate to the puck carrier, even if his D partner has that side covered and there's a wide-open guy on his side. Anyway, I'm happy to see JBD looking like he's adjusting to the NHL pace because he has a lot of tools to be a good NHLer.
• Is Shayne Gostisbehere... good? I thought he was mostly washed, having bounced between the Coyotes and then the Red Wings, but he's having quite the resurgence, quarterbacking the top powerplay unit for one of the league's top teams and also generally driving offence. It's jarring, at least to me, to see a guy the league had mostly written off doing well again. Also, Brent Burns looks better than I thought he was now.
• Don't look now, but this shutout puts Ullmark at .909 on the season. He's slowly clawing his way back to being an above-average goalie.