Shane Pinto caps comeback as Ottawa Senators rally past Nashville Predators in shootout

Ottawa's Tim Stützle celebrates his fourth goal of the season in the second period of Saturday's game against Nashville. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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SENATORS 3, PREDATORS 2, (SO)

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The Ottawa Senators couldn’t have scripted a better comeback story.

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The Senators have won four of their first five games to start the National Hockey League season for the first time in 12 years, but a 3-2 shootout victory over the Nashville Predators wasn’t easy in front of 15,025 at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night.

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Shane Pinto scored in the shootout to secure the two points for the Senators in dramatic fashion.

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The Senators were already breathing a sigh of relief.

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Drake Batherson scored in the nick of time, with goaltender Linus Ullmark replaced by an extra attacker, tying it up when the puck deflected off his leg and into the Nashville net with 1:23 left in the third period.

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That completed a comeback from a two-goal deficit the Senators found themselves in during the first period. Tim Stutzle also scored for Ottawa.

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Coming off a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, the Senators found themselves in another tight battle. The Predators didn’t give up a lot, and the Senators had to battle for space, going 22 minutes 22 seconds without a shot during a stretch that started in the second period and continued in the third.

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Ullmark made his fourth start of the campaign and kept the Senators in this one. He made a huge stop on Roman Josi on a breakaway in overtime.

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Ullmark came into this night with a 3-0-0 record, a 1.13 goals-against average and a .956 save percentage. Dating back to last season, he had won his previous seven starts.

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Ottawa centre Dylan Cozens tries to score on Nashville goalie Matt Murray during second-period action. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Stirring the soup

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Senators head coach Travis Green, frustrated with the lack of pressure in the first 20 minutes, switched up the forward lines in the second period.

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Matt Murray, not the one who played for the Senators, was only making the fifth start of his National Hockey League career for Nashville, and he was a standout in the middle frame as Ottawa made a push.

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The Senators outshot the Predators 10-4 in that period despite coming up short on a two-man advantage for 54 seconds. We wondered coming into this season if the Senators would have a tough time scoring, and that was certainly the case in this one.

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Mind you, Batherson and Thomas Chabot both hit the post with shots.

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The Senators’ power play has struggled mightily, but they did get one when it mattered. Stutzle cut Nashville’s lead to 2-1 at 9:29 of the second period, one-timing a perfect pass from Dylan Cozens past Murray on the stick side. That was only Ottawa’s third goal with the man advantage this season.

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Ottawa Senators winger Drake Batherson gets hit by Nils Hoglander of the Nashville Predators during second-period action. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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An ugly start for the Sens

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The Predators had three power plays in the first period and only capitalized on one, but the television camera showed Green with some choice words for the on-ice officials at the buzzer.

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Really, the Senators had no one to blame but themselves. They only had four shots on Murray, and the only power play that Ottawa had was uninspiring, to say the least.