The Ottawa Senators have plenty to be thankful for heading into a Canadian Thanksgiving matchup on Monday against the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J.
Ottawa built upon its impressive early-season resume when it snuck away with a 3-2 shootout victory against Nashville on Saturday.
Drake Batherson scored the tying goal with just 1:23 remaining in the third period before Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto scored in the shootout to help the Senators earn their fourth victory in their first five games to kick off the season.
“I think this has been our best start since I can remember,” Batherson said. “So it’s nice being on the other side of it. You know, there’s so many games this month. We’ve just got to keep playing the way we’re playing, and the more consistent we are, the better off we’ll be.”
The Senators have continued to thrive despite injuries to key defensemen Jake Sanderson (lower body) and Artem Zub (knee), as well as forward William Eklund (ankle), who is set to miss an extended period of time.
A large piece of the Senators’ early success has been the play of netminder Linus Ullmark. The former Vezina Trophy winner is 4-0-0 through four starts, while sporting a sterling 1.34 goals-against average and .942 save percentage.
“He’s always been sick, I’ve known that,” Pinto said of Ullmark. “He’s won a Vezina. To win a Vezina is not that easy to do and we know the talent level that he has. … He knows we have his back and he’s in a good place, and you could just tell by the way he’s been playing.”
New Jersey’s veteran netminder Jake Allen reached an impressive milestone, playing in his 500th career game, when he helped the Devils avoid a third consecutive defeat as they earned a 4-1 home victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
“It was a proud day for me,” Allen said of his momentous victory. “I think there was a point where I didn’t know if I was going to hit (500 games). I didn’t think it was in reach.
“I’ve extended my career a lot longer than I thought possible and I’m pretty proud of that. I’m a huge proponent on longevity so I’m proud to be able to say that I’ve played this long.”
Allen got plenty of help from the Devils’ top offensive producers as captain Nico Hischier finished with two goals and an assist, with Jesper Bratt (one goal, one assist) and Jack Hughes (two assists) each picking up a pair of points as well.
After starting the season 1-for-14 on the man advantage through the first three games, the Devils’ power play found its footing on Saturday, capitalizing on three of four opportunities.
“We put the work in and we did a lot of practice, a lot of routes, and I think that’s when it just starts clicking,” Hischier said of the Devils’ power play. “You just need to stay patient sometimes. I think it’s normal to go through stretches and we stayed patient, we worked on it.”
