The Ottawa Senators hosted the Utah Mammoth on Sunday night in the first of two matchups between the two organizations this season. Both teams were on the back half of back-to-back games, but the Senators were in a better situation, coming off a gritty 3-2 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Mammoth, on the last game of their four-game road trip, lost 6-2 to the surging Montreal Canadiens and 5-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
In the end, the Senators came out on top, beating the Mammoth 4-2, relying on their team-first approach and getting some strong goaltending.
Game Recap
The Mammoth started strong, peppering Leevi Merilainen for 14 shots while the Senators only managed to get five shots on Vitek Vanecek throughout the first period. However, after 20 minutes, the score was tied 1-1. Ottawa opened the scoring with a scrambling goal in front of Utah’s net. Fabian Zetterlund started it off with a strong shot on net, which Dmitri Simashev blocked, but Dylan Cozens picked up the loose puck and tried to flip it into the net. Vanecek scrambled, leaving the puck free for the picking, and Ridly Greig was in the perfect spot to put it past the line.
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As the period wound down, Clayton Keller drove towards the net and managed to cut across, catching Nick Jensen flat-footed. Merilainen made the primary save, but Keller was quicker than the Senators’ rookie netminder, picking up his own rebound to score Utah’s first goal.
The second period saw the Senators bounce back and take charge of the puck. Although they didn’t quite get ahead of Utah in shots, tying them nine apiece, they scored twice and were much more feisty and engaged. Jordan Spence, who has been a frequent healthy scratch for Ottawa, scored his first goal as a Senator, firing a big shot from the hashmarks that beat Vanecek cleanly.
Soon after, head coach Travis Green moved Spence up to play with Thomas Chabot on the second pairing, bumping Jensen down to the third period with Tyler Kleven. Seven minutes later, Cozens passed the puck to Nick Cousins behind the net, who scored on the wrap-around, giving Ottawa a 3-1 lead.
However, Nick Schmaltz spoiled the Senators’ resurgence with a driving play that got by Merilainen. The goal was very similar to Keller’s earlier, but this time, it was budding all-star Jake Sanderson who couldn’t stop the play. The goal marked Schmaltz’s seventh goal against the Senators in 14 career matchups. It also highlighted the issues the Senators were having in controlling the Mammoth’s speed. Merilainen’s stellar play bailed the Senators out several times throughout the first 40 minutes to keep them in the lead.
The Senators’ lead almost evaporated early in the third, as Jack McBain put the puck in the net to tie the game. Merilainen didn’t like it, though, immediately signalling ‘no goal’ to the referee. Green agreed and issued a coach’s challenge, which led to a reversal in the call, although it was ruled as incidental contact instead of goaltender interference. Three minutes later, Michael Amadio scored his fourth goal in four games, tipping down Chabot’s point shot, which dribbled between Vanecek’s legs.
Following the Senators’ fourth goal, the game was all Ottawa’s. Utah tried to get some momentum going by pulling Vanecek with two minutes remaining, but the Senators refused to give them anything. The Senators closed out their two-game weekend with four points, showing great teamwork and solid goaltending, while the Mammoth continue to search for their first goal while their goalie is pulled in franchise history.
