Senators vs. Devils: Tim Stützle and Linus Ullmark Keep Ottawa's Hot Start Rolling in 4-1 Win

The Ottawa Senators traded away their captain over the summer, are missing a chunk of their blue line, and lost another defenseman in the first period on Monday night. They are 5-1-0 anyway, and at this point the injury report looks less like a problem and more like a dare.

Tim Stützle had a goal and an assist, Shane Pinto scored nine seconds into the second period, and Linus Ullmark stopped 29 of 30 shots as the Senators beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 at Prudential Center for their third straight win. Stephen Halliday added a power-play goal and Tyler Kleven finished it into an empty net, while Arseny Gritsyuk scored the lone goal for a Devils team that heard boos from its own building.

Twenty Scoreless Minutes, Plenty of Damage

Nobody scored in the first period, but it was hardly quiet. At 10:01, Anthony Mantha boarded Nikolas Matinpalo, and the Ottawa defenseman went head first into the boards. Matinpalo needed medical attention, never came back, and was ruled out with what Ottawa described as an upper-body injury. Mantha was given a five-minute major, and the Senators, already without Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub on the back end, had to play the rest of the night a defenseman short.

Ottawa did not score on the major. All told, New Jersey took nine minutes in penalties in the first period and killed every second of it. Then it gave the momentum right back.

Nine Seconds

Pinto opened the scoring nine seconds into the second period, taking a centering pass from Michael Amadio out of the left face-off circle and beating Nico Daws with a wrist shot from the slot. It was his first goal of the season, and it landed like a bucket of ice water on a team that had just survived a penalty marathon.

"Right from the drop of the puck, our brains weren't switched on to start the period," coach Sheldon Keefe said. "You want to capitalize on that and to start like that with some of our most experienced people on the ice is unacceptable."

The second goal came courtesy of an unlucky edge. Luke Evangelista was called for hooking at 8:16, and 24 seconds later Devils defenseman Brett Pesce lost his footing and went down, leaving Halliday uncovered between the circles. Stützle found him, and Halliday buried his second goal of the season on a night he played only 8:26. The AP noted the fans booed as the clock ran out on the second period.

Stützle's helper was the 265th assist of his career, which NHL.com said tied Christian Ehrhoff for third most by a German-born player in league history, behind Leon Draisaitl and Jochen Hecht.

Turning Point: A Tip, a Challenge and a Wall

The Devils pushed hard in the third, and NHL.com noted they outshot Ottawa 14-3 in the period. It did not matter much, because Stützle struck first. At 11:10, Thomas Chabot fired from the point, Stützle redirected it past Daws, and it was 3-0.

Forty-eight seconds later, Jesper Boqvist appeared to get New Jersey on the board, but Ottawa challenged for goaltender interference and won. That was the moment the comeback died. Gritsyuk did beat Ullmark with a wrist shot between the circles at 14:59, with Jack Hughes assisting, but instead of a potential one-goal game with five minutes left, it was 3-1. Kleven hit the empty net at 17:53.

Stützle Steers, Ullmark Slams the Door

Stützle was the best skater on the ice: a goal, an assist, two blocked shots and 20:46 of ice time. NHL.com noted he has a point in each of Ottawa's first four road games, a run only Draisaitl has topped among German players. He was not interested in a solo bow.

"It's not about one guy in the room; it's about everyone," Stützle said.

He did single out one teammate. "I think our third period could have been a little bit better," he said, "but we found a way to win a big game again and Ullmark was great."

Hard to argue. Ullmark finished with a .967 save percentage and is now 5-0-0. Per NHL.com, he is just the third goalie in Senators history to win his first five or more games of a season, joining Ray Emery and Dominik Hasek.

He had help. Ottawa blocked 30 shots, with Chabot getting in front of five while logging 27:53, and Kleven adding four blocks and four hits in 23:37 to go with his empty-netter. Pinto played 21:20 and also blocked two.

For New Jersey, Daws made 16 saves on 19 shots, and Hughes extended his point streak to three games. Jesper Bratt diagnosed what went wrong.

"They protect the middle pretty well and we didn't funnel enough pucks into those areas with guys there," Bratt said.

Stats That Matter

• 30-13: Blocked shots, Ottawa vs. New Jersey. The Senators turned the slot into a no-fly zone.
• 29 of 30: Ullmark's night, good for a .967 save percentage.
• 1-for-5: Ottawa's power play, including an empty five-minute major. It only needed one.
• 30-20: Shots on goal, New Jersey vs. Ottawa.
• 0:09: Time elapsed in the second period when Pinto broke the scoreless tie.

What It Means

Ottawa is 5-1-0 with 10 points and 3-1-0 on the road. Per NHL.com, it is only the third time in franchise history the Senators have reached five wins in six or fewer games, after doing it in 2005-06 and 2007-08. They have done it without a handful of key players, including Sanderson, Zub and William Eklund, whom coach Travis Green expects to be out for an extended stretch with a left ankle injury.

"It's a pretty focused group, pretty determined group, and we've never been a team to talk about injuries or let it deter what we're all about," Green said. St. Louis visits Tuesday.

New Jersey falls to 2-3-0 and 2-2-0 at home, two days after beating Vancouver 4-1. The Devils head to Detroit on Tuesday for the back end of a back-to-back, and Keefe offered a simple prescription.

"We've got to learn how to score when it's hard and that's the reality of it, so we've got to stay with it," Keefe said.

The Show Goes On

Lose your captain in a trade, lose two defensemen to injury, lose a third in the first period, and still win by three on the road. Ottawa is starting to look like the band that lost its lead singer and somehow kept the whole setlist intact. With Stützle on lead guitar and Ullmark stopping 29 of 30, the tour rolls on.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press and NHL.com; postgame quotes as reported by NHL.com.