Stützle Scores Twice as Senators Beat Bruins 4-1, But Now Face Another Key Injury Concern

The Ottawa Senators are 2-0 to start the new season, but for the second straight game, the good news came with an asterisk.

Tim Stützle scored twice and added an assist as the Senators turned in a highly efficient road performance Monday night, defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 at TD Garden.

Michael Amadio had a goal and an assist, while Drake Batherson scored his first of the season as the Sens followed up Saturday’s 3-2 victory in Toronto with another road win. The Senators finished with 24 shots on goal and allowed just 19.

But once again, an injury took some of the shine off the result.

After losing top defenceman Jake Sanderson during the season opener, the Senators lost starting goaltender Linus Ullmark against his former team. Ullmark made 10 saves through two periods but was removed to start the third, having "tweaked something" as a result of a collision.

The Senators described the decision to pull him as precautionary, with Samuel Ersson taking over in goal.

For a team already dealing with the loss of its best defenceman, the status of its No. 1 goaltender will now be the next major storyline as the Sens play the second half of a back-to-back Tuesday in Detroit. That was a game that Ersson was likely to start in anyway.

Stützle opened the scoring at 7:39 of the first period, finishing a a great setup from Amadio to give the Sens their first shorthanded goal of the season and an early 1-0 lead.

Less than two minutes later, he struck again, this time using Amadio as a decoy. It didn't officially count as a shorthanded goal, but for all intents and purposes, it was.

That quickly put the Bruins in a 2-0 hole and gave the Senators control that they never relinquished.

Batherson extended the lead to 3-0 just 1:06 into the second period, with Stützle picking up the assist for his third point of the night. After a neutral zone turnover, Stützle picked up the puck and hit his linemate with a stretch pass for a breakaway. Batherson finished with a gorgeous backhand tuck behind Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman.

Amadio then made it 4-0 at 5:19, converting a nice setup from Shane Pinto. Pinto's original shot was disrupted, so he whipped a blind backhand pass to the front of the net and Amadio swatted it home. That gave Amadio his second point of the game and second goal in as many games.

Amadio has been one of the Sens top players so far and it should be noted that, while he's not talked about as much, he's an important player who's in his contract year. 

That was more than enough offence to get the W.

Boston finally broke through at 3:30 of the third period when James Hagens scored his second goal of the season. It was a fluky goal after Ersson tried to play the puck and whiffed on his pass attempt behind the Sens net.

But for the second straight game, the Sens played a highly structured third period and thwarted any comeback ideas.

The Senators won't have much time to enjoy the victory or assess the bumps and bruises. They'll travel to Detroit to face the Red Wings Tuesday night, looking to make it three straight wins to open the season.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa