Centre depth leads way for Senators in impressive win over Maple Leafs

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators didn’t need a slapshot empty netter to squeak out a win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Instead, they slapped them down all night.

For one game at least, the Senators flipped roles with the Maple Leafs, looking every bit as if they were a perennial playoff team — which they definitely haven’t been — in a win 3-0 over their arch-rivals.

It was dominant 200-foot play, timely saves and elite players stepping up that made the Senators look like the team they would like to be.

“I think all four lines were great,” said Tim Stutzle, one of Ottawa's scorers. “Our defensive pairings were great. We gave them no room, and that's the way we got to play if we want to win more games.”

The Senators’ supremacy on Tuesday — and they hope moving forward — starts down the middle.

For once, the team had a full complement of centres. Shane Pinto returned from an undisclosed injury and Josh Norris, who missed the majority of the last two seasons with shoulder injuries, is healthy. Add Stutzle and it gives Ottawa an extremely talented triple threat.  

Healthy centres have led to hearty results.

When Stutzle, Norris and Pinto have all played in the same game since the 2020-21 season, the Senators are 30-15-3, which is a .656 points percentage. At that pace, the Senators would earn 108 points in a full season. This season, with all three centres playing, the team has a 5-2-0 record compared to 3-5-0 during Pinto’s injury.

Last year, in the final Battle of Ontario, Ridly Greig sealed a Sens victory with a slapshot empty netter that provoked retaliation from Morgan Reilly that earned him a suspension.

On Tuesday, the game-winner came at the end of the Senators' opening shift, when Norris rushed up the ice to receive a pass from Claude Giroux and wired the first shot of the game over Anthony Stolarz’s glove at the 41-second mark.

Norris’ play could be a crucial factor in deciding the success of the Senators’ season. The 25-year-old centre, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the Erik Karlsson trade in 2018, has had a star-crossed career. He was top-three in rookie scoring in the abbreviated 2020-2021 season and had 35 goals in 2021-22, but since then has had two season-ending shoulder injuries.

“I think it's been a little inconsistent,” Norris said about his play so far this season, prior to the Toronto game.

“I think just having the puck more, skating more with the puck, trusting my speed, that I maybe hadn't trusted a little bit at the start of the season. But when I'm firing, I think that my skating is my biggest asset and shooting, obviously, as well.”

Norris has six goals and is now on pace for 32 goals this season if he stays healthy.  But what had been missing was his patented one-timer slapshot that wowed his one nearly full season in 2021-22. It returned against Boston last weekend when Norris scored his first one-timer of the season. It was a sign that he may be starting to shake off his shoulder injuries. Norris told Sportsnet.ca that his left shoulder “feels fine.”

“Obviously I want it to be more consistent, and hopefully I can get on a hot streak. But it's obviously nice to see that one go in. And I think the last few games, I've wanted to get more pucks on net and just get back to that. Just know that if I'm shooting more pucks, the chances of me scoring are more likely. So, I definitely to want to shoot the puck a lot more.”

Norris is shooting at 22 per cent to begin the season which may seem high, but in 2021-22 he shot 20 per cent. He’s simply an elite shooter when he’s healthy.

“My (game) is slowing down, I’m more comfortable," he said. "I was thinking about this the other day, it’s year six for me, fifth full year, and I've barely played two full seasons, so I'm still getting my game going. And I'm excited to see where I can take it and just push myself.”

On Tuesday night, when Norris was on the ice, the Senators out-chanced Toronto eight to four at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

While Norris’ first-shift goal turned out to be the winner against the Leafs, Stutzle was also red hot. Sporting a shiner from an errant Norris pass in Boston that deflected into his face, he flew up the ice all night, creating chances and holding onto possession.

"He's Tim Stutzle; he's our boy. He's our German fella,” said Sens goaltender Linus Ullmark. “I think that when Tim brings his A-game, he’s being mature and doing the right things, and not forcing plays. He's a heck of a player."

In the second period, Stutzle received a pass from Drake Batherson after a forced offensive zone turnover to rifle a puck past Stolarz to double the lead. “Yeah, he's a good example of a young player with a lot of skill, which you see a lot of times in the NHL,” said Senators coach Travis Green. “But there's other things than skill and points that go into winning, and he's been a guy that's bought into it."

In the third period, Stutzle had multiple opportunities to score an empty netter but elected to make less risky dump-ins.

“You don’t… really understand what it takes to win in the NHL when you’re young and I think we have it this year,” said Stutzle. “We know what we got to do, we know the way we got to play. And I think we showed it multiple times.”

Pinto, the team’s returning third-line centre, also contributed to the victory. Moments after Stutzle’s goal, he cleared out John Tavares in front of the Ottawa net, allowing Michael Amadio to race down the ice and fire a wrist shot over Stolarz to make it 3-0.

When Pinto was on the ice, the Senators out-chanced Toronto 18-10.

In total, the trio of Stutzle, Norris and Pinto out-chanced Toronto 52 to 22 at five-on-five. For the season, the trio has out-chanced opponents 488 to 404, outshooting opponents for a CORSI percentage of 54 per cent. If their good health persists, the winning should continue.

Crucial in the Sens victory over the Leafs was the stabilizing presence of Ullmark, who stopped 27 shots to earn his first shutout with the Senators.

The Senators were excellent in front of him, allowing only two high-danger chances against at five-on-five. Toronto went more than nine minutes without a shot in the first period and had a stretch almost as long in the second.

But when Ullmark was tested after that shotless stretch in the second, he made a huge left pad save on Max Domi to preserve the comfortable 3-0 lead.

When asked again where his game was at, Ullmark chuckled, “I still don't know where it is."

The Senators now sit fourth-best in expected goals allowed, according to Natural Stat Trick. Their goaltenders' statistics are beginning to catch up to their team’s overall defensive play in front of them.

The Senators’ defensive prowess has allowed Ullmark to get back to a respectable .904 save percentage. The team is now 15th in save percentage at .892 and 10th in goals allowed per game.

Consistent clear-eyed hockey from the Senators like they demonstrated on Tuesday against Toronto would allow them to close on their Ontario foes in the standings and grow into a playoff team.