What Happened
Tim Stützle recorded a goal and an assist and Linus Ullmark stopped 29 shots as the Ottawa Senators defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Monday night in Newark. Shane Pinto and Stephen Halliday also scored for Ottawa, which moved to 5-1-0. Arseny Gritsyuk scored New Jersey's only goal with five minutes remaining. Senators defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo left in the first period after being boarded by Anthony Mantha and was ruled out with an upper-body injury.
Key Details
- Ullmark allowed one goal on 30 shots; Nico Daws made 16 saves for New Jersey.
- Pinto scored nine seconds into the second period; Halliday scored on the power play midway through the period.
- Matinpalo went head first into the boards after a hit from Mantha and did not return.
- Ottawa was already missing defencemen Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub.
- Forward William Eklund is out with an injured left ankle for an extended period, per coach Travis Green.
- The Devils dropped to 2-3-0.
What It Means
Ottawa has won five of six games despite injuries to Sanderson, Zub, Eklund and now Matinpalo, leaning on timely scoring and depth. The Devils, at 2-3-0, are still working several new players into their lineup and were hurt by penalties in the second period.
What's Next
Ottawa's blue line remains short-handed while Matinpalo, Sanderson and Zub are unavailable, and Eklund is expected to miss extended time. New Jersey continues integrating new faces as it looks to move past a 2-3-0 start.