Sens Stymie Leafs 3–0 in Dominant Fashion

The Battle of Ontario was more of a whimper tonight, as the Sens won in convincing fashion, 3–0. The final shot count was 41–26 for Ottawa. Josh Norris, Tim Stützle, and Michael Amadio were the goal scorers, Artem Zub had his first two assists of the season, and Linus Ullmark made 26 saves in a shutout.

The game got started quickly, with Josh Norris scoring in the first minute. It was nice to see the Sens on the positive side of a first-minute/last-minute goal for once this season.

And that did it for scoring in the first, though not for lack of trying. The Sens were the much better team, especially at 5-on-5, and raced out to a 12–2 lead in shots (the period would end 17–9). The Leafs' only real chances came on powerplays, with Nick Cousins taking a pair of tripping penalties, one a super soft call and one a bit unlucky but definitely still a penalty. Ullmark looked really good on the PK, making a few solid stops when called upon. That said it was hard not to feel a little tenser seeing the Sens dominate play but not scoring, as those tend to be missed chances you come to regret.

The second period didn't see my worst fears realized. Instead, the Sens continued to be the dominant team and continued to be the only team scoring. First, Tim Stützle and his prominent black eye were the beneficiary of multiple Leafs fleeing the zone before the puck left.

Then 43 seconds later, Michael Amadio anticipated the play well and outskated Jake McCabe before deciding to shoot (and score) on a 2-on-1.

Late in the period, the Sens had a powerplay cut short by a phantom interference call on Brady Tkachuk, and Max Domi got a chance on the powerplay in tight, but he couldn't get it over Ullmark's perfectly placed pad. 3–0 Sens after two, and the visitors were full value for the lead.

I'm not really sure what to say about the third. The Leafs kind of played like a team that was just hoping to get out of this game; it was weird. At one point, Shane Pinto collided with Anthony Stolarz who came way out to play the puck, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson cross-checked birthday boy Pinto's head repeatedly, so of course they got offsetting roughing penalties (??), but the Leafs didn't look like they wanted to do much of anything on the 4-on-4. With 5 minutes left, the Leafs nearly got one as a puck trickled through Ullmark, but he got a quick whistle, and it didn't even cross the line anyway. Shortly thereafter the Leafs pulled the goalie, leading to many "Where's Ridly Greig?" jokes. Somehow the Sens kept missing the empty net, but then with 90 seconds left Matthew Knies took a dumb cross-checking penalty, which did it for the pulled goalie and the game. The Sens got a couple chances, but were mostly content to just run out the clock and preserve the shutout. A+ effort all around.

Thoughts:

• The Sens were excellent in the neutral zone. The Leafs basically only got chances on the rush when the Sens were making line changes. That kind of attention to detail wins games, and it showed in the shot count.
• I feel like I shout out Stützle every time in the notes after a game, so I won't bother today. He did score, though.
• Even when he doesn't get a point, Shane Pinto's presence in the lineup just seems to settle everything. (Missing an empty net notwithstanding.) Having Stü, Norris, and Pinner really makes this team deep on forward.
• Nice to see Artem Zub get rewarded with a couple assists tonight for some simple, steady play on defence.
• Sens are now just four points back of the Leafs with two games in hand......

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