RALEIGH, N.C. — Shane Pinto scored twice, Linus Ullmark stopped 32 shots and the Ottawa Senators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 on Friday night.
Nick Jensen had a goal and an assist as the Senators won for the fourth time in five games. Nick Cousins and Michael Amadio both had two assists.
Ullmark got his second shutout of the season and 10th of his career.
The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner has found his stride of late, winning five of his last six starts while sporting a .954 save percentage and 1.48 goals-against average.
"It's a hard place to come in and play," Ullmark said to reporters. "[Hurricanes] are playing a really solid team game as well, so you can never relax. They have some really high-end skill, so it's a fun game once things start clicking and we're doing the right things, keeping the lanes open and helping me see the pucks and getting rid of those second opportunities."
Pyotr Kochetkov made 19 saves, but the Hurricanes were shut out for the second time in six games and lost for the fifth time in the last seven.
Pinto converted from the slot off a short pass from Amadio at 4:04 of the second period to open the scoring. He added an empty-net goal with 47 seconds left.
This marks the end of a 19-game goalless drought for Pinto, who now has three on the season.
"Obviously we've got to enjoy it for an hour here, but me personally, it was definitely a monkey off my back," Pinto told reporters following the game. "Everyone was on board, so it was good."
Head coach Travis Green echoed that sentiment.
"Happy for him. He's been playing his best hockey of the year, I think it was just a matter of time before he scored a goal — nice to see him get two. That line has been a big part of us playing good hockey here lately."
The Nick Cousins-Pinto-Michael Amadio line combined for six points tonight and was involved in all three goals.
Green also praised his team's commitment to playing smart hockey, even after gaining the lead.
"I thought our commitment to checking away from the puck was big and that's something we've talked about a lot. That was a good win for our team and to get the result here... that's going to help us."
The Senators beat the Hurricanes for only the sixth time in the last 20 meetings, with the first road win in the season in more than three years.
Takeaways
Senators: Ottawa’s best groove of the season is largely connected to the defensive end. The Senators haven’t allowed more than one goal in any of their past four victories.
Hurricanes: Carolina has trailed at some point for the 11th straight game.
Key moment
The Hurricanes threatened a few times in the second period, with Ullmark deflecting Brent Burns’ shot off his mask to maintain the 1-0 lead.
Key stat
The Senators killed off two Carolina power plays in the first period, so now they have gone 7-for-7 on penalty kills over the past two games. That’s a good boost for a team ranked 24th in the NHL in penalty-killing.
Up Next
Senators host Pittsburgh on Saturday, while Hurricanes host Columbus on Sunday.
— With files from Sportsnet Staff
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