Instant Analysis: Stützle and Ullmark Shine in Opening Win

Steve Staios could not have drawn the season opener any better than that. Well maybe a little less sitting back in the second half of the game would’ve been nice, but I digress. The Senators defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers 3-1, with Linus Ullmark and Tim Stützle leading the way. It wasn’t just that the Senators won, though. It felt like Staios’ offseason vision came together quite nicely, at least for a game. Let’s dive into the details.

READ MORE: Senators Lock in Linus Ullmark to Big Contract

Stützle’s Strong Start

Stützle started off the scoring with a power play snipe through a screen. What made this so noticeable is that he scored just one power play goal all of last year. A big emphasis this season was to fix the special teams. How about a power play goal on the team’s first power play of the season? Stützle would also put the game away with a nice hustle play to finish off an empty netter. He ate up about 20 minutes of ice-time, and is well on his way to surpassing the 18 goals from a year ago.

Ullmark’s Great Debut

This is the type of game the Senators would’ve found a way to lose last season. Step one, dominate early. Step two, give up a weak goal or two. And of course, step 3, fall apart. This time around, the Senators avoided the last two steps, thanks in large part to Ullmark. He has a calming presence in his game. There’s never any panic. In the end, Ullmark stopped 30 shots, including 16 in the third period to secure the win. Fresh off signing a new contract, Ullmark is off to a nice start.

Special Teams Success

Special teams were a disaster last season. They finished bottom ten in the league on the power play, and bottom five on the penalty kill. I won’t act like this was a special teams masterclass, but all in all, this was a good start. They scored the aforementioned Stützle power play goal in the first to get the scoring started, and they killed off both Panthers power plays. There was plenty of intrigue to see who would be playing on the Senators special teams this season.

Their top power play unit consisted of Stützle, Tkachuk, Batherson, Norris, and Sanderson. No surprises there.  On the penalty kill, some interesting choices were made. They used the following forwards to kill penalties: Amadio, Giroux, Gregor, Greig, Norris, and Pinto. On defense, they used Sanderson, Zub, Chabot, and Jensen. The intriguing players in that group are Pinto, Norris, and Chabot. Starting with Chabot, he hasn’t been used much on the PK over the years. Perhaps this is an attempt to have him play a more well-rounded game. As for Norris and Pinto, it makes sense to try to round out their game by killing penalties. With Stützle as the top offensive centre, the Senators need their next centres to be able to eat up some of those defensive minutes.

Final Thoughts

It’s just one game, but it’s always nice to start the season with a win. Sanderson, Stützle and Ullmark all looked great. Shane Pinto also played a strong game, including a first period snipe. Travis Green had the players ready to go, right from puck drop. If there were any concerns, it was how the Senators backed off in the second half of the game, allowing the Panthers to push the pace as the game went along. We’ll have to see if that’s a common problem going forward or not. For now, let’s just enjoy a 1-0 start, and the dreams of the Senators becoming the first 82-0 team in league history.