The Senators and Canadiens closed out their pre-season in Ottawa on Saturday night. The Sens won it 4-2 and finished the exhibition schedule with a 5-1-1 record.
After missing the 2023 pre-season, Ottawa Senators centre Shane Pinto has probably been in just-glad-to-be-here mode this fall. But his final pre-season game of 2024 will go down as a memorable one. He put up a hat trick and added an assist as the Senators defeated the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, 4-2.
Michael Amadio also had a fine game, scoring a goal and providing an assist, while Linus Ullmark stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced.
Following a feisty matchup on Tuesday in Montreal, both head coaches, Travis Green and Martin St. Louis, opted for a cautious approach with their lineups for this game. Aiming to avoid any more injuries before opening night, the Habs decided not to play their top line, while the Sens rested four of their top six forwards. However, Josh Norris was still in action, centring Ottawa's top line.
Here's the timeline of events from tonight's live blog.
First period
7:15 pm: 44 seconds in, Shane Pinto picked up a rebound and put it past a sprawling Sam Montembault to make it 1-0. Michael Amadio picked off a pass in the Montreal zone, leaving the Canadiens flat-footed. He gave it to Noah Gregor, who got off a shot that bounced right out to Pinto.
Less than a minute later, Arber Xhekaj stepped up in the neutral zone and got Adam Gaudette in the back with a hard hit at centre ice. Zack MacEwen took exception and dropped the gloves with the Habs' big man. MacEwen got some shots in, but Xhekaj came out on top. MacEwen got the extra two.
7:20 pm: Pinto got his second goal of the night, tipping home a wrist shot by Jake Sanderson to give the Senators a 2-0 lead.
7:25 pm: Kaiden Guhle stepped up in the neutral zone and hammered Matthew Highmore. Zack Ostapchuk stepped in to start a scrum, and after everyone's face was washed, he got the extra two minutes for roughing. The hit was clean and didn't need a response, but after Tuesday night, these clubs are easily offended right now.
7:46 pm: Christian Dvorak took advantage of the Senators standing around and puck-watching. Brendan Gallagher dug the puck loose behind the Ottawa net and swatted it out front. No one picked up Dvorak, who came in and beat Linus Ullmark to get Montreal on the board.
Second Period
8:07 pm: As he did in the first period, Amadio got the Sens going again. Just 22 seconds in, number 22 deflected a shot from the point to make it 3-1 Ottawa
8:13 pm: Pinto completed his hat trick on the penalty kill. He stole it from Alex Newhook in the neutral zone for a clean breakaway. Pinto froze Montembault on the forehand, took it to the backhand and made it 4-1.
8:15: Pinto scored three ways tonight: 5 on 5, power play and shorthanded. With over half a game left, he needed a penalty shot goal and an empty netter to match Mario Lemieux's classic feat from 1988.
8:31 An ugly turnover in the corner to the left of Ottawa's net by Tyler Kleven led to a scoring chance. Ullmark bailed him out.
8:40 pm: The period closed with a hard hit by Pinto on Logan Mailloux, which Xhekaj, his D partner, didn't appreciate. He expressed that loudly to Pinto.
Third Period
9:02: Tyler Kleven - the TKO-Train – took a hard run at Christian Dvorak. He got a small piece, but Dvorak dodged most of it. It could have been nasty.
9:04: I loved Amadio's game tonight. He wins a lot of puck battles. A heavy stick. It's not Mark Stone heavy. But heavy enough. Amadio led all Sens forwards in ice time tonight at 22:07.
9:05: The Sens took a too many men penalty. Then Noah Gregor shot the puck over the glass. Travis Green must have been thrilled. The Habs got a five on three, but the Senators killed it.
9:11: Just after they killed off the second penalty, Xhekaj, public enemy number one in Ottawa, fired a one-timer home from the point over Ullmark's shoulder. It looked like it deflected off Cole Reinhardt. Sens fans could have done without that. The Habs faithful erupted in their home away from home.
9:20: It didn't feel like it, but the Habs had a decent shot advantage tonight, 25-19. Ullmark looks so calm and steady back there.
Final
9:26: The Senators beat the Canadiens 4-2. The game stars were Pinto, Amadio and Ullmark. The Sens and Habs meet for real a week from tonight in Montreal.
For the second straight year, the Senators will finish pre-season near the top in the Atlantic Division, going 5-1-1 for 11 points. They were 6-2 last year.
The Senators open the new regular season on Thursday night at home against the Florida Panthers. Final cuts in Ottawa will be interesting, and they will probably be announced by the end of the weekend.