Danny McCloskey
Every now and then, the schedule makers throw a team a bone, so to speak. That’s the case for the Senators in their last two games. Yes, they’ve come against two of the best teams in the league in the Hurricanes and Lightning. The fortunate part is that both these teams had to travel to Ottawa to play their second game in a back-to-back situation.
To the Senators credit, they played both these games perfectly. They fought off these strong teams early, and then took advantage of these tired teams late. They won on Sunday against the Hurricanes 6-3, and won by a 6-2 score against the Lightning tonight. Let’s dive into the details, with the focus on the three best Senators who were all fantastic tonight.
READ MORE: It’s Time to Rally Around Brady Tkachuk
Tim Stützle
Stützle scored a big power play goal in the third period to put the Senators up 4-2. He also added two assists. This came a game after he scored one of the best goals of the season against the Hurricanes on an incredible effort that went the length of the ice. With the three points tonight, Stützle has guaranteed himself at least a point per game season, as he’s hit 82 points with four games to play.
Jake Sanderson
Sanderson scored two fantastic goals tonight, both where he used his skating ability to take the puck hard to the net. Keep in mind, Sanderson is a defenseman. That gives Sanderson a career high 13 goals, surpassing his previous best of 11, set last season. He’s also up to 51 points, putting him over 50 points for the second straight season. That makes Sanderson the second defenseman in Senators history to score at least 50 points in multiple seasons. Erik Karlsson did so six times.
Brady Tkachuk
Tkachuk registered a career high four assists tonight. That gives Tkachuk six points in his last two games. It also puts Tkachuk at 58 points in 58 games. Tkachuk’s season was ruined early on with a hand injury that forced him to miss 20 games. For him to now be at a point per game and closing in on 60 points despite all the missed time shows you just how good he is, and just how well he’s playing in recent weeks.
Additional Notes
Congrats to Cam Crotty on his first ever NHL point. In his four games with the Senators, he’s been solid, averaging over 14 minutes of ice-time per game. With two points tonight, Drake Batherson has tied his career high of 68 points, set last season. Jordan Spence played over 22 minutes tonight and scored a sweet goal. It’s just about time to re-sign him, in my opinion. Linus Ullmark was solid tonight, saving 27 shots. To his credit, he’s started each of the last five Senators games. Next up for the Sens, a Thursday night game against the Panthers.
