Senators' Tim Stützle does it all in riveting shootout win over Predators

The 24-year-old is playing like a total superstar to begin the season, with another two points in a 3-2 win against Nashville on Saturday.

Senators centre Tim Stützle loses the puck as he falls on a scoring attempt against Predators netminder Matt Murray in the first period on Saturday night. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Down two goals early, the Ottawa Senators never panicked.

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They had their troubles offensively — going over 22 minutes without a shot at one point — but they stayed the course.

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Tim Stützle had a goal and an assist, Shane Pinto scored the shootout winner, Drake Batherson potted one and Linus Ullmark made 16 saves for the Sens (4-1-0) in a 3-2 defeat of the Nashville Predators at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

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No time to waste. Let’s get to grading.

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Forwards

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Tim Stützle: A

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With the Predators lacking intensity — the first period was a snoozefest —Stützle used his speed to catch them off guard on the rush, but he just didn’t have the support from his linemates. He finished into an open net on the power play to cut it to 2-1, and was later robbed on the doorstep on a 5-on-3. Credit was given to assistant coach Ben Sexton strategizing how to better funnel pucks towards the goal during the team’s late push, but it was Stützle who helped execute the vision, finding Pinto in the middle of the ice for a redirection on the tying goal. Stutzle had an enormous 26:06 of ice time, including 3:22 in overtime. Oh, and that shootout move was disgusting.

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Drake Batherson: A-

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Batherson had plenty of chances before he broke through. A turn-and-fire wrister was blockered away in the first, and he dented the left post with a one-timer on that 5-on-3. In the end, it was a familiar approach that earned him his third goal of the year: Go to the net and see if you can get a piece of it. The final deflection Stützle’s initial shot-for-tip took was off Batherson’s shin pad and in. Batherson scored off pretty much every body part last season. You can tick off “leg” so far in 2026-27.

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Andre Burakovsky: D-

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Burakovsky played like someone who was making his debut with a new team after missing considerable time in training camp and the early part of the season. Ah… right. The 31-year-old was slow to get his head up and make decisions with the puck, unaware of Vitali Pinchuk sneaking up behind him in the defensive zone on his second shift of the game, ultimately losing the puck to the Predators centre and immediately taking a hooking penalty. Burakovsky didn’t play Sens Hockey in the neutral zone, once chipping it into traffic when Stützle was about to hit the line with speed, instead of getting it deep. In the second, he picked Filip Forsberg’s pocket in the ‘O’ zone before misreading his defenceman’s momentum at the point and firing a pass back down ice. He was totally out of rhythm. To make matters worse, he forced Thomas Chabot into taking an interference penalty to negate a power play in the third, as Burakovsky’s flubbed pass had given Alexander Kerfoot thoughts of a shorthanded breakaway. Those six seconds to start the man advantage were the only that he played in the final 15 minutes of regulation.

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Dylan Cozens: B

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He wasn’t all that noticeable until Nick Cousins hit him with a beauty of a cross-ice pass on a rush in the second, but Cozens was robbed by Matt Murray (no, not that Matt Murray). Moving down the right flank on a power play, Cozens made a sweet seam pass to Stützle for an easy goal. The tertiary assist on the play went to the extremely poor coverage from the Nashville penalty killers. Cozens went 7-for-10 in faceoffs.

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Ridly Greig: B

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Greig’s fiery battling resulted in a number of retrievals deep in the Predators’ end, and there was one particular shift midway through the second when his dogged determination and smart passing resulted in some sustained offensive-zone time. He struggled in the dot, going 2-for-9, but he was reliable almost everywhere else.

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Fabian Zetterlund: D+

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Coach Travis Green surely had his reasons for sitting Zetterlund for nine minutes in the second, demoting him to the fourth line for stretches and playing him just 8:30 overall. One of those reasons was likely the winger’s shooting. Zetterlund had four shot attempts and each missed the net, including when he elected to shoot on a 2-on-1 in the second and hit the side of the net. Kudos where it’s deserved: He had a mighty backcheck late in the third, laying a solid hit on Adam Edstrom to get the puck back.

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Shane Pinto: C+

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Up until the final two minutes of the third, Pinto may have been playing the worst game of his career. He suffered from serious indecision, lost control of the puck constantly — to be fair, the ice seemed choppy — and threw numerous interceptions right up the gut. When his stick blew up on a one-timer midway through the third, he could’ve just said, “Not my night.” Instead, he made a great play to get a stick on Stützle’s centring pass during the 6-on-5, grabbing the primary assist on Batherson’s goal. He then scored the game-winning shootout goal with a pragmatic move on Murray.

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Michael Amadio: C+

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It was a relatively quiet game for Amadio with one shot and one block in 15:47 of ice time. He still made sensible plays in the offensive zone, but was just a quarter step behind getting to some loose pucks. Amadio was handed a slashing penalty in the first because Preds defenceman Adam Wilsby neglected to mix grip strength exercises into his off-season workout routine.

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Claude Giroux: A-

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This was a big bounce back for Giroux after having a few underwhelming performances in a row. When he’s making plays, it’s as if everyone else on the ice with him falls in line, ditching any cutesy skill moves in favour of crisp passes, ample support in puck battles and shots on the net. Carrying the puck over the Predators blue line looking to create in the second, Giroux slowed up at the top of the left circle and found Carter Yakemchuk streaking in on the right side for a Grade A chance. Giroux made high IQ plays in the ‘D’ zone too, one of the two hits he threw being used to stop the Predators cycle dead in its tracks in the middle frame. He went 11-for-16 in draws.

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Stephen Halliday: B-

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For being given a team-low 7:57 out there, Halliday took care of business at both ends of the rink, getting physical on the forecheck and making stronger plays in the ‘D’ zone. Nashville isn’t exactly the toughest, feistiest team, but Halliday held his own, scrumming hard along the walls and using a wide stance and his lengthy reach to protect the puck while keeping his head on a swivel to find teammates in soft areas. Green only let the 24-year-old take two faceoffs.

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Nick Cousins: B+

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Cousins played around a dozen super solid shifts, starting the game on the fourth line before getting opportunities higher in the lineup when Burakovsky and Zetterlund sat. Cousins fit in well during six minutes of even strength time on the second trio, once helping force a turnover inside the Senators’ blue line, skating down the left side on a rush and hitting Cozens with the perfect cross-ice pass in space before Murray made a huge save.

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Warren Foegele: C

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Foegele’s game has been a tad bland to start the season, perhaps lacking some quicker thinking and creativity in the offensive zone. Both of his shot attempts were blocked on Saturday.

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Defencemen

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Thomas Chabot: A

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The Senators are 4-1-0 to start the season without Jake Sanderson, and it cannot be understated how much Chabot has stepped up in his teammate’s absence. The new captain walked the blue line like a No. 1 defenceman on Saturday, his deft touch the main reason for a 90-second period of pure ‘O’ zone domination in the first. And when he chose to take a stroll around the perimeter or sneak into the slot, a lot of magic almost occurred. He had the game on his stick at the hashmarks with seven seconds left but was stoned by Murray. Chabot led the team with 12 shot attempts and played 28:43. Three NHLers have a higher average ice time than Chabot (27:07) this season: Jackson LaCombe, Zach Werenski and Quinn Hughes. Heard of ’em?

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Jordan Spence: B+

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Spence was crafty moving the puck and his body in the offensive zone, in sync with Chabot and Stützle on those overlap cycle moves they love to pull off. Spence masterfully extinguished a Miles Wood solo rush in the third, avoiding taking a holding penalty when reaching around the forward to poke the puck away on a partial break.

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Tyler Kleven: B-

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Kleven dialled up the aggression for this one, but it didn’t always go as planned. He dumped Wilsby in the right ‘D’ zone corner during his first shift of the game, but when he charged at Vitali Pinchuk in the left corner later in the period, the Nashville forward was able to keep the puck moving, bounce off the contact and head to the net. There, he won a puck battle with Kleven and Yakemchuk, getting it over to Ross Colton for the opening goal. Kleven was brilliant with the clears on the penalty kill, once utilizing a nice, high backhand flip while under pressure to send it the length of the ice. He had a team-high three blocks.

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Carter Yakemchuk: B-

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It seems like Yakemchuk’s stick gets sturdier with every game. Other than the aforementioned lost battle with Pinchuk, he overpowered opponents in 50-50 battles. Yakemchuk made some astute decisions defending Nashville in transition — a couple of pinches went exactly how he anticipated.

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Hoyt Stanley: B-

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Another relatively tidy game from the rookie. Stanley’s confidence was up slightly, once stepping up in Ottawa’s high slot to glove down a Nashville keep-in and make a bank pass to Stützle for the zone exit in the first. He even enthusiastically jumped up in the rush earlier in the frame, and made a heads-up outlet pass to Zetterlund for an odd-man rush in the second. Stanley took a high-sticking penalty in the second.

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Nikolas Matinpalo: B

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There are certain inefficiencies in Matinpalo’s game, but you cannot deny that he is all heart. Three steps behind Josi at the Predators’ blue line at the beginning of a potential rush in the first, Matinpalo closed by the Senators’ blue line and helped retrieve the puck. He took a shot under the chest plate of his shoulder pads in the third. It stung big time, but he kept on fighting.

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Goalie

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Linus Ullmark: A-

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Ullmark deserved an honorary assist on Greig’s drawn slashing penalty — the goalie was the one to hit him with a stretch pass off the glass. Ullmark flashed the leather on Josi’s overtime breakaway and made two important saves in the shootout. He is 4-0-0 with a .942 save percentage. Not too shabby.

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