The Ottawa Senators beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 in a shootout Saturday at Canadian Tire Centre, erasing a two-goal deficit before Shane Pinto scored the deciding shootout goal. Tim Stutzle had a goal and an assist in regulation and then scored in the shootout to key the comeback.
Nashville built a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Ross Colton and Jonathan Marchessault, but Ottawa answered with third-period and second-period strikes from Stutzle and Drake Batherson to force overtime. Ryan O’Reilly scored for Nashville in the shootout before Stutzle and Pinto converted for Ottawa to seal the win. Matt Murray made 18 saves on 20 shots for the Predators, while Linus Ullmark stopped 16 of 18 for the Senators.
Key Moments: How Ottawa Rallied Late
Nashville controlled the opening period, with Colton beating Ullmark on a snap shot at 8:50 off a Vitali Pinchuk assist, then Marchessault doubling the lead at 13:10 on a wrist shot set up by Steven Stamkos and Roman Josi. The Predators carried that 2-0 cushion into the second before Ottawa began its push.
Stutzle cut the deficit to one at 9:29 of the second period, burying a wrist shot assisted by Dylan Cozens and Thomas Chabot. The Senators didn’t tie it until deep into the third, when Batherson deflected in a shot from Shane Pinto and Stutzle with just 1:23 left on the clock to send the game to overtime tied 2-2.
Neither team scored in the extra period, pushing the outcome to a shootout. O’Reilly opened the tiebreaker with a goal for Nashville, but Stutzle answered for Ottawa before Pinto delivered the shootout winner, snapping one past Murray to give the Senators the extra point.
Top Performers From Both Teams
Stutzle led all skaters with two points, scoring once and assisting on Batherson’s tying goal before adding the shootout equalizer. Batherson finished with a goal, two shots and a blocked shot. Chabot logged 28:43 of ice time and picked up an assist on Stutzle’s second-period goal. Cozens also factored into the tying sequence with an assist.
For Nashville, Colton and Marchessault each had a goal, while Josi contributed an assist and five blocked shots across 24:19 of ice time. Murray turned aside 18 of 20 shots in regulation and overtime for the Predators, who got 26 blocked shots as a team compared to Ottawa’s 15.
What It Means For The Standings
The win pushed Ottawa to 4-1-0 and a share of the top spot in the Atlantic Division with Tampa Bay and Boston, each sitting at eight points. Nashville dropped to 2-1-2, placing fifth in the Central Division with six points, one point behind both Minnesota and Winnipeg. The result also gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead in the season series between the two clubs.
Ottawa won the faceoff battle decisively, taking 35 draws to Nashville’s 29 for a 54.7% win rate. Both teams finished 1-for-6 on the power play and committed six penalties apiece for 12 penalty minutes each, a rare case of near-identical special teams numbers in a game decided by a shootout.
What’s Next
The Senators and Predators are both back in action with their next games to be set on the schedule following this result. Ottawa will look to build on its hot start, while Nashville will try to shake off its third straight game decided in extra time or a shootout this season. For more on Nashville’s roster moves, see the Jayden Struble trade and the Matt Murray recall that brought him into Saturday’s crease.
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