BOSTON — The Senators are two games into life without Brady Tkachuk, and the early return is a clean 2-0-0 record. Ottawa handled the Boston Bruins 4-1 at TD Garden on Monday, following its opening win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Tim Stutzle driving the latest result.
- Ottawa has opened 2-0-0, scoring seven goals and giving up three.
- Goaltender Linus Ullmark did not return after the second period against Boston following contact with Bruins forward JJ Peterka in the crease. Coach Travis Green described the removal as precautionary.
- Stutzle scored twice in 1:43 during the first period, including a short-handed marker at 7:39 after a David Pastrnak turnover created a 2-on-1 with Michael Amadio.
- His second goal came after another Bruins giveaway and another odd-man rush. It crossed the line three seconds after Boston’s power play expired.
- Stutzle added an assist on Drake Batherson’s goal 1:06 into the second period, giving him three points.
- The three-point night was Stutzle’s 33rd in the NHL. He moved past Erik Karlsson and matched Tkachuk for fourth on the Senators’ all-time list.
- The captainless Senators are trying to avoid the slow starts that hurt them in recent seasons: they went 2-4-1 through seven games last year and 6-7-0 through 13 games the season before.
- Tkachuk finished his eight Ottawa seasons with 213 goals, 250 assists and 463 points in 572 games before leaving the club during the offseason.
What it means for Detroit
Ottawa’s road swing continues Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, with DSN, TSN5 and RDS2 carrying the game. Detroit enters at 0-2-0.
The Senators then head home for Thursday’s opener against the Philadelphia Flyers at Canadian Tire Centre. A win in Detroit would send them back to Ottawa unbeaten and give the club the fast start it has stressed since camp.
“The belief has always been in the room, regardless of who is playing,” Batherson said. “We compete for one another, and when that is happening, we are difficult to play against.”
Green said the club made its opening weeks a point of emphasis after straying from the formula that worked early last season. The coach cautioned that the players still have to execute that plan on the ice.
Stutzle echoed that restraint after the win. Two games do not settle a season, he said, but Ottawa cannot spend another year trying to climb out of an early standings hole. The club’s confidence, he added, comes from playing together the way it did late last season.
For one night in Boston, that showed up in transition. Pastrnak’s mistakes turned into two Stutzle rushes, and the Senators never let the Bruins establish much of a response. Ullmark’s status now becomes the immediate watch item as Ottawa tries to keep the opening roll going.
