Filip Gustavsson had another phenomenal game on Monday, carrying a Chabot-less Sens to a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The win is Ottawa’s seventh in their last 10 as they hit their stride as the season comes to a close.
By Zach Mulder
While it was a good game for Gustavsson the same can’t exactly be said for the rest of the team. From the opening whistle to the closing horn, the Sens were scrambling to stay alive. Just two and a half minutes into the game Ottawa found themselves short-handed after a too many men on the ice call. The special teams would be a story throughout, as the Sens would be a man down six times in the game. Fortunately, the penalty kill was at its best.
With 9:22 to play in the first, Nikita Zaitsev would take a charging call giving the Jets their second powerplay of the period. Halfway through the kill Connor Brown did what he’s done best as of late and put the puck in the back of the net, beating Laurent Brossoit blocker side and giving the Sens a 1-0 lead with his 18th goal of the year.
Brown’s goal would stand as the only one for almost 40 minutes. The Jets would get 4 more opportunities on the powerplay but the Sens penalty kill and Gustavsson stayed strong, keeping Winnipeg off the scoresheet until 10:68 to go in the third period.
Josh Brown and Mathieu Perreault would both take roughing penalties, sending the game to four on four. 44 seconds later Josh Morrissey would get the puck in the high slot, glide in and fire a wrister that Gustavsson could only get a piece of. The puck bounced in and the game was tied at one a piece after two and a half periods of the Jets peppering the net.
However the Sens would be the ones who got the last laugh, with the game winning goal coming from one of the most unlikely sources. With 1:13 to play Nikita Zaitsev would find the puck on his stick at the top of the right faceoff circle. He wound up and rifled a slap shot that blew right over Brossoit’s shoulder giving Ottawa back the lead. The goal was Zaitsev’s fourth in two years with the Sens and his first goal in an Ottawa uniform while a goalie has been in the net.
Ottawa would close out the last minute and hand the Jets their seventh consecutive loss. The game continues the run of success Ottawa has found in recent weeks. Unfortunately for Gustavsson, it’s also the third time this season he’s had a shutout lost in the third period, despite only playing in his sixth game. The Swede has been a revelation in net, only finding himself in the crease due to injury but not letting his chance slip by. Ottawa will face Montreal next at 7:00 on Wednesday as they look to continue their strong close to the season.
