The Ottawa Senators will have little time to celebrate their latest big win as they host the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday.
It is the third consecutive weekend the Senators have played back-to-back games. Coach Travis Green’s team is 5-0-0 in those games, including a gritty 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
“These are hard ones,” Green said moments after Saturday’s win. “Not only is it a hard-fought game, but it’s an emotional game. Your emotional energy is very high during these games, and we’ve talked about it. It’s easier said than done. You got to enjoy it for a little bit and then get reset for tomorrow.”
Shane Pinto scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period versus the Maple Leafs.
Tim Stutzle, who leads the team with 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists), scored a power-play goal for a team that entered the game on Saturday amid a 1 of 19 stretch with the man advantage.
Ottawa also saw the return of defensemen Jake Sanderson, who missed the loss on Thursday in Boston due to an upper-body injury, and Travis Hamonic, who was sidelined for three weeks with a lower-body injury.
However, Green will need to reshuffle his lineup once again after forward Nick Cousins left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury that was the result of a knee-on-knee collision with Toronto’s Jacob Quillan. Green did not have an update on the extent of Cousins’ injury but admitted he would miss some action.
Green also complimented Matthew Highmore, who filled Cousins’ spot on the third line. That line was tasked with defending against the Maple Leafs’ first line, and Highmore also had the primary assist on Pinto’s goal.
Utah wraps up a three-game road trip on Sunday. The club saw its three-game winning streak snapped Friday in a 5-2 loss against the Winnipeg Jets, who scored the game’s final three goals in the third period.
Coach Andre Tourigny told reporters after the game that he was pleased with his team’s effort against the Western Conference’s top team, despite the result.
“We played a good team, played hard (and) played the right way,” Tourigny said. “I think in the long run, we’ll get a reward. Maybe I’m wrong, but I believe in that group, and I’m sure our players believe as well in themselves. I have no doubt about that.”
Center Clayton Keller leads Utah with 53 points (17 goals, 36 assists) and has earned at least one in each of his past six games. He has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in that span and assisted on both of the goals in the loss to the Jets.
Center Nick Schmaltz, who is second on the team with 29 assists, has recorded at least one point in each of the past eight games. He scored his 10th goal of the season on Friday.
Utah will once again be without its top defenseman, as Mikhail Sergachev did not make the road trip due to an upper-body injury. He averages 25:45 of ice time per game and ranks fifth in points with 30 (eight goals, 22 assists) on the team.
Winger Dylan Guenther, fourth on the team with 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists), also remains on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
–Field Level Media
