OTTAWA 鈥� On Friday night, the common phrase to describe the Ottawa Senators 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers was that the Ottawa squad got 鈥済oalied鈥� after New York鈥檚 star netminder Igor Shesterkin stopped 40 shots.
It was a role-reversal for the Senators one night later as backup netminder Anton Forsberg recorded a shutout against the Seattle Kraken 鈥� for the second straight season 鈥� as Ottawa topped the Seattle Kraken 3-0.
鈥淎lways nice to have a shutout, but obviously always super nice to see the bounce back we had tonight from yesterday,鈥� said Forsberg, who stopped 22 shots in the victory.
鈥淚t was a tough loss yesterday. Played real well. And we came in here again, worked real hard, and it was impressive.鈥�
This marked Forsberg鈥檚 second shutout of the season after a 31-save effort against the Utah Hockey Club. He鈥檚 now made six starts in 2024 after Linus Ullmark, who signed a four-year, $33-million (US) contract with Ottawa before the start of the 2024 campaign, missed a handful of games with a strain injury.
Forsberg said he鈥檚 been working hard on his positioning alongside Ullmark and new Senators鈥� goalie coach Justin Peters and the work is paying off.
鈥淚鈥檝e tried to be eager and listen. You can never learn too much,鈥� Forsberg said.
Forsberg is only NHL goalie this season to have posted two shutouts.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy for him,鈥� said Ottawa coach Travis Green about Forsberg鈥檚 Saturday performance. 鈥淗e probably wasn鈥檛 happy with his game after Linus got hurt. He鈥檚 really found his groove. And he had another great game tonight.鈥�
The Senators鈥� Saturday night effort was, according to captain Brady Tkachuk, the team鈥檚 finest hour of the season.
Tkachuk scored his team-leading seventh goal of the game in the second period.
鈥淭onight, I feel like that was the best 60-minute effort that we鈥檝e had as a team so far this year,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 been our expectation now I鈥檓 excited about looking to build off that.鈥�
Adam Gaudette opening the scoring in the first period with a backhanded chip-in after a coach鈥檚 challenge overturned an initial no-goal ruling. Green is now 3-for-3 on the season with successful challenges.
Gaudette has scored six goals in his last five games and was tied for the team lead in goals before Tkachuk 鈥� who has recorded seven points in his last four games 鈥� netted one of his own.
Tim St眉tzle added an empty netter with just over two minutes remaining to put the game out of reach.
Tkachuk said he was frustrated to have seen the Senators play as detailed a game as they did against the Rangers but still come up short. But despite the squad feeling the effects of a back-to-back 鈥� they arrived after midnight after the loss in New York 鈥� mentally they were dialed in.
鈥淲e probably weren鈥檛 as sharp as we were last night but there are some nights when your structure and details 鈥� you have to rely on that to win some games especially when you鈥檙e playing back-to-back. You鈥檒l probably need to spend a little time in your own zone, and we did, but we defended really well tonight,鈥� Green said.
鈥淲e played a game last night and lost a game we probably deserved better. I was happy for our group tonight and the way they came out.鈥�
With the team seemingly starting to run out of gas in the third, Forsberg made a nifty save on Kraken captain Jordan Eberle, going post-to-post to keep the shutout intact. The pressure was on, but Forsberg said he saw his team make stops in front of him and witnessed a team that 鈥渟kated hard鈥� and 鈥渇orechecked hard.鈥�
Add it all up, and it鈥檚 another win for a team that is eager to take the next step.
鈥淚t was a fun game to play,鈥� Forsberg said. 鈥淲e are a young team, but 鈥� everyone is hungry. We know how it is. Everyone is really motivated to make the hard push for the playoffs here.鈥�
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2024.
Adam Stanley, The Canadian Press
