Anton Forsberg delivered an outstanding performance, stopping 39 shots for his first shutout of the season as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Seattle Kraken 2-0 on Saturday night.
Mathieu Joseph and Drake Batherson each scored to help the Senators snap a three-game losing streak and secure their second home victory of the season. Forsberg’s shutout was the fourth of his career, evening his record to 4-4-0 this season.
Entering the game, Forsberg had the lowest save percentage in the league among goaltenders, with at least one game played, standing at .850.
“It’s been tough,” Forsberg admitted. “There have been a lot of ups and downs, with some good games and some bad ones. Consistency is key for both me and the team, and we need to start winning games more regularly.”
Joey Daccord made 26 saves for the Kraken, who have now lost four straight games (0-3-1).
“We’re here to get two points, not just to focus on positives and negatives,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “We’re trying to win hockey games.”
Trailing 2-0 entering the third period, the Kraken made a strong effort to score but were denied by Forsberg. Seattle outshot Ottawa 15-3 in the final period.
“Capping that off with a win was big for our group,” Tim Stutzle said. “We played well for the full 60 minutes. We could have scored more, and our defense did a great job blocking shots, even in the last 10 seconds.”
Senators coach D.J. Smith was pleased with his team’s effort.
“I thought we stuck with it, blocked many shots,” Smith said. “Goaltending made a big difference for us tonight. Our penalty kill was solid, and we got contributions from many players off the puck.”
Ottawa took the lead late in the first period after Matty Beniers lost control of the puck. Joseph was there to pick it up and scored his fifth goal of the season with 2:39 remaining.
Both teams had a slow start to the second period, with the first shot not coming until 8:22.
The Senators doubled their lead at the 13-minute mark when Vladimir Tarasenko won a battle behind the net and passed to Stutzle, who found a wide-open Batherson. Stutzle picked up his 200th career point on the play.
“The puck took a bad bounce off my stick,” Daccord explained. “I thought our defenseman was coming to pick it up, but we miscommunicated, and they capitalized. We’ll clean that up.”
Ottawa had a brief scare when Thomas Chabot left the ice, favoring his right leg, but returned shortly after.
Seattle’s Brandon Tanev returned to the lineup after missing two games, and Justin Schultz played in his 700th NHL game.
Upcoming Games
- Kraken: At Montreal on Monday night.
- Senators: Host the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
