Linus Ullmark learned during the warm-up period that he was going to keep goal for the Ottawa Senators for the second time in as many nights, but he still allowed his team to score a great victory.
After humiliating the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 9 to 2 on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins were visiting the Canadian Tire Centre. They were unable to do the same to the Ontario club, which benefited from an overtime goal from its captain Brady Tkachuk to win 3-2. Watch in main video.
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“It’s always fun to score a winning goal. You dream of scoring these kinds of important goals. It wouldn’t have been possible without the beautiful game of [Jake] Sanderson and Tim’s opening of the throwing lane [Stützle]“, said Tkachuk in a post-match interview with TVA Sports.
It was Anton Forsberg who was to start the match between the posts. However, the Swede suffered a minor injury before the start of the match and Ullmark had to replace him. Zach Dietz, from the University of Ottawa, acted as emergency goalkeeper.
After shutting out the Carolina Hurricanes with 32 saves the day before, Ullmark this time blocked 25 shots.
“They played well and there were times when we had to bend without breaking. They fought. They were rested, so it says a lot about us that we accomplished the job despite being tired,” assured Tkachuk with a smile.
Thomas Chabot and Drake Batherson, author of a fourth goal in three games, scored for the Senators. Blake Lizotte and Kristopher Letang responded for the Penguins.
Ottawa has won its most recent three duels and five of the last six. This allows them to position themselves in the playoff picture.
“I don’t think we’ve been in this position at this time of year since I’ve been here,” Tkachuk admitted. The series don’t start tomorrow, we’re still a long way from it. I am happy with our position and I know that we will have many challenges.
The Senators will enjoy a few well-deserved days off before facing the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
Despite the fatigue, Tkachuk and the Senators got the job done –
