Senators Postgame: Ullmark Spectacular in Win

That right there is a huge win for the Ottawa Senators! Coming into tonight, they were 0-3 without Brady Tkachuk, and were trying to avoid a third straight loss. They were also facing a red hot Tampa Bay Lightning team, with Nikita Kucherov coming into the game on a nine game point streak where he had scored 19 points. Well, with Linus Ullmark playing the starring role, the Senators were able to keep Kucherov off the scoresheet and win a tight 2-1 game. Let’s dive into the details.

READ MORE: Jake Sanderson Joins Exclusive Group in Senators History

First Star: Linus Ullmark

This was undoubtedly one of Ullmark’s best games of the season. Coming off a mediocre game against the Sabres where he gave up four goals on 21 shots, Ullmark was outstanding tonight. He stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced, including some incredible saves against the Lightning best players. He stopped all seven of Kucherov’s shots, and was instrumental in the Senators killing off all three of the Lightning power plays. The Sens needed a big player to step up with Tkachuk out, and it was Ullmark who came through.

Two Way Dominance by Greig, Pinto, Amadio

There has been so much talk about the dominance of the Cozens, Perron, Batherson line over the last few weeks. When Travis Green decided it was time to move Fabian Zetterlund up the lineup, he was unwilling to break those guys apart. Fair enough, but instead he broke up the Greig, Amadio, Pinto trio, who had been playing great hockey of their own. What makes this line so great is how reliable they are defensively. Take the Pinto goal, for example. It was a great defensive effort by these guys to create the goal on the rush. They were also tasked with closing this game out against a loaded Lightning group. Greig, in particular, was fantastic tonight, assisting on both goals and winning nine of his 12 faceoffs in 21:36 of ice-time. One problem? Just score on the empty net, please.

Additional Notes

Tim Stützle should absolutely shoot the puck more, but his assist on the Jake Sanderson goal was a good example of why he probably enjoys passing the puck so much. Speaking of Sanderson, he was great tonight, as per usual. On the not so great side of things, what a bad penalty by Batherson late in the game. Also not so great, the weak chip in by Jensen that in part led to the only goal against. Inevitably, this game is an example of being outplayed, but having your goalie come up big. That’s exactly why Steve Staios traded for Ullmark in the offseason.