Linus Ullmark shuts the door, Senators smother Maple Leafs 3-0

By Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press on November 12, 2024.

Ottawa Senators' Josh Norris (left) celebrates with Claude Giroux after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs during first period NHL hockey action in Toronto, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO – Linus Ullmark made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Ottawa Senators blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0 on Tuesday.

Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle and Michael Amadio scored for Ottawa (8-7-0). Artem Zub added two assists. Ullmark’s shutout was the ninth of his career.

Anthony Stolarz stopped 37 shots for Toronto (9-6-2), which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.

The teams met for the first time since Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly cross-checked Ridly Greig up high after the Senators forward took a slapshot into an empty net on a breakaway in a 5-3 victory Feb. 10. Rielly was suspended five games for the incident.

Toronto captain Auston Matthews missed a fourth straight contest with an upper-body injury. Veteran winger Max Pacioretty, meanwhile, is out week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury in Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Ottawa centre Shane Pinto (undisclosed) returned to action following an eight-game absence.

TAKEAWAYS

Senators: Ullmark picked up his first shutout in an Ottawa uniform since coming over from the Boston Bruins in an off-season trade. The goaltender signed a four-year, US$33-million extension last month.

Leafs: The home side had allowed 34 shots on three occasions in 2024-25 before Tuesday. Ottawa directed 35 pucks on target through 40 minutes against Toronto.

KEY MOMENT

Stutzle made it 2-0 early in the second period before Amadio fired past Stolarz less than a minute later to put the visitors up by three.

KEY STAT

Ottawa, which hasn’t made the playoffs since its run to the 2017 Eastern Conference final, won three of four meetings between the Atlantic Division rivals last season.

UP NEXT

Senators: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

Maple Leafs: Visit the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.