Senators Postgame: Yet Another Sens Shutout!

The Ottawa Senators came into this weekend with a high likelihood of making the playoffs. After back-to-back shutout victories, they are now oh so close to officially clinching a playoff spot for the first time in eight seasons! It was obviously a great weekend for Ottawa’s goaltenders, as both were perfect in their respective games, combining for 69 saves on 69 shots. Tonight, Linus Ullmark and the Senators took advantage of a struggling Blue Jackets team with a decisive 4-0 win. Let’s dive into the details.

READ MORE: Jake Sanderson Joins Exclusive Group in Senators History

Back-to-Back Shutouts

Yesterday, it was Anton Forsberg with a brilliant 40 save shutout against the Florida Panthers. Tonight it was Linus Ullmark’s turn, as he made 29 saves for the Senators league high 10th shutout this season. Ullmark has four of them, Forsberg has three, and Leevi Merilainen has the other three. The Senators have been forced to play their last three games without Brady Tkachuk. While it’s been a bit of a struggle offensively, the team’s defensive play has been fantastic, giving up just one goal and winning all three games. Just how big an improvement has the goaltending been this season? The Senators combined for just nine total shutouts from 2019-20 to 2023-24.

Unlikely Goal Scorers

Let’s start with the unlikely fact that the Senators have finished off the last two games with empty netters, something that had been a challenge for them over the last while. Pinto scored the empty net goal tonight, while Perron scored the goal to make it 3-0. Those aren’t exactly strange guys to be putting the puck in the net. The first two goals, though, were scored by Adam Gaudette and Nikolas Matinpalo. For Gaudette, it was his first goal since February 3rd, a span of 23 straight goalless games. He recorded just one assist during that time. As for Matinpalo, he scored his first career NHL goal tonight in his 41st career game. He also took a crosscheck to the face, which we now know is a simple two minute roughing penalty.

Additional Notes

It was a very productive night for Senators defensemen. They combined for a goal, four assists and 13 of the team’s 30 shots. Thomas Chabot led the way with two assists in 22:26 of ice-time. What a solid year it’s been for him. A few key reasons for his success? Travis Green taking over as head coach, not having to play 26+ minutes every night, Nick Jensen as his partner, and staying healthy. He also deserves a lot of credit for rounding out his game, becoming much better defensively. Make it 15 straight games for Zetterlund without a goal. He has 25 shots during that time. He looks okay out there, but that’s a frustrating drought. At least he picked up an assist tonight. He also had a tough time when he was traded to the San Jose Sharks, going goalless in 22 straight games before breaking out the next season with 24 goals.