Sens’ 4-goal burst in 1st period fuels sweep of Red Wings
Feb 28, 2023, 5:14 AM | Updated: 8:46 pm
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek chases Ottawa Senators left wing Tim Stutzle as he shoots the puck at Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Feb.28, 2023 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
(Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Tim Stutzle scored on a penalty shot in the first period and had two assists, and Austin Watson scored twice as the Ottawa Senators beat Detroit 6-1 Tuesday night and completed a two-game sweep of the Red Wings.
Claude Giroux, Alex DeBrincat and Brady Tkachuk also scored for Ottawa. Mads Sogaard stopped 16 shots and picked up his fourth NHL victory.
With their four-goal outburst in the first period, the Senators are the first team in NHL regular-season history to score a power-play goal, a short-handed goal, an even-strength goal and a penalty shot goal in a period.
Dominik Kubalik scored for the Red Wings. Ville Husso made 21 saves.
“These are games that we were very excited to get up for and we’re definitely proud of the effort we put in,” Tkachuk said. “Now it’s focusing on getting a rest tomorrow and playing the way we need to play come Thursday.”
Ottawa was coming off a 6-2 win over Detroit on Monday night.
“We’re pretty down,” said Detroit’s Dylan Larkin. “Both of these (games), it’s just not the way we wanted this trip to go. We’re definitely leaving with our tail between our legs. It’s a tough feeling.”
Both Ottawa and Detroit have 64 points and find themselves five points back of Pittsburgh, which holds the final wild-card spot.
The final 22 games will be a grind, but that’s exactly what the Senators have been waiting for.
“Clearly there’s a difference in maturity from them now to four years ago when I got here,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “Now they’re starting to be difference makers every night. They know what they have to do to win. It’s not going to happen every night, but they know the way they have to play.”
Ottawa took control of the game midway through the first and didn’t let up.
Detroit opened the scoring three minutes in when Kubalik beat Sogaard with a weak shot on the glove side.
Stutzle tied the game on a penalty shot, the first of his career, and Watson scored his first of the game, short-handed, beating Husso up high.
Watson scored his second of the game by tapping in a Derick Brassard pass. He took a high stick from David Perron moments after, cutting his nose. DeBrincat scored his 20th on the ensuing power play to make it 4-1.
Ottawa made it 5-1 with a second power-play goal when Giroux got a shot through traffic from the blue line.
Tkachuk rounded out the scoring, tipping a shot from Giroux.
Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde felt for Husso.
“We’ve taken a lot of pride all year in not giving up easy offence, you guys have seen that,” Lalonde said. “The breakaways, the 2-on-1s, the odd-man (rushes), poor Ville (Husso). That’s an impossible game as a goalie. He never got comfortable. Everything he faced was either a breakaway or a power-play situation.”
NOTES
Ottawa’s Parker Kelly was a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game. Detroit will be without Michael Rasmussen indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
UP NEXT
Red Wings: Host Seattle on Thursday.
Senators: At the New York Rangers on Thursday.
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