In Greek mythology, the immortal Phoenix rises from the ashes of its predecessor to begin life anew.
In Ottawa, Tim Stützle has risen from the scraps of the Senators depleted lineup to emerge a star in the making. A little unpolished, in need of more finish, but exciting to watch.
If it weren’t for the virtual wipeout of Ottawa’s centre ice position – Josh Norris, Shane Pinto, Colin White and Dylan Gambrell all injured – Stützle would have remained on left wing, and we wouldn’t know what we now know – wouldn’t have witnessed the wonder of Timmy Stü on Monday night, when he did a bit of everything in Ottawa’s thrilling 3-2 win over Edmonton.
In no particular order, Stützle saved a goal at one end, created one at the other, fought, got bloodied, got stitched, played 20 minutes of plus-2 hockey, much of it against his German hero Leon Draisaitl, all to set up the piece de resistance – Stützle’s overtime winner, a laser beam over the right shoulder of Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen.
A full night’s work for a kid who turned 20 a couple of weeks ago.
Stützle is nearly as entertaining off ice as he is on it. On the ice, he darts, weaves, surges and occasionally gives away pucks by trying to do too much with his newfound freedom at centre ice.
In interviews in his second language, the German native is funny. Self-deprecating.
“Maybe a little bit stupid to get in a fight, especially that late in the game,” Stützle said.
In person, wearing a T-shirt, he looks so slight you wonder how he didn’t get killed in that scrap with Edmonton’s William Lagesson. As it was, Stützle fell awkwardly and landed on his bare head. More wonders – that he didn’t wreck a knee while falling or suffer a concussion when he struck the ice. Stützle admits he wasn’t really provoked to fight, but it stemmed from self-loathing for not scoring on his chances during the game.
“I don’t know, I kind of got aggressive there and tried to stand up for myself,” he said. “I think it got the team going a little bit more there and (the Oilers) were coming. It was fun.”
Fun for Stützle maybe, but everyone else in the building, including the 500 fans allowed in, were worried for the kid. In the end, he needed four or five stitches to close a cut on his forehead.
“Let’s be clear, we don’t want Timmy fighting ever,” said Senators head coach D.J. Smith. But then he couldn’t contain the proud smirk, this coach who loves that side of the game.
“He gets in a fight, he comes back, does what he does, we’ve got a real player on our hands,” Smith said.
“He brought fire tonight, for sure,” Senators goaltender Matt Murray said of Stützle.
Stützle, who last fought “when I was like 15 or something,” was asked to describe the banter in the room afterward – were his teammates more interested in talking about his brilliant goal or his first NHL fight?
“It depends who’s talking to me,” Stützle said, laughing. “We have a couple of guys who are really good at fighting. So, they’re like – ‘Oh, that was great.’
“In the end, we were just happy to get the win. It doesn’t matter who scored the goal.”
Developing the young core matters, though. And though this season went awry in November as far as being a playoff team, if the campaign proves that Stützle is a No. 1 or No. 2 centre (with Norris), the Senators will have set themselves up for years. Now slot in Shane Pinto et al. and there is real strength down the middle. With eight goals, and 13 assists for 21 points in 38 games, Stützle has only scratched the surface of his potential production.
In the present tense, make that a 2-0 series sweep against Edmonton this season, a sweet turnaround from the nine straight losses last season in the one-off Canadian North Division. The Oilers were willing on Monday, but not sharp.
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Paul Does it All
If Stützle wasn’t the best forward on the ice, it was Nick Paul, who scored Ottawa’s second goal and was a force in regulation and overtime.
Smith used Paul’s skating ability to help neutralize Connor McDavid, and it was especially noticeable in 3-on-3 play.
“I thought Pauly was the best player on the ice for us,” Smith said. “There’s very few people in the world that can skate with McDavid, especially a forward, backwards. And he did in overtime, and against Draisaitl when he had to. He scored, I don’t know what else he’s got to do. But, he’s playing with confidence and giving us a chance.”
If the Oilers are interested in the pending UFA, they couldn’t have witnessed a better showcase of Paul’s talents. Due to injuries at the forward position, Paul is playing outsized minutes for a role player – 23:32 against Edmonton, and if he seemed to be taking every faceoff, it’s because he nearly did.
Paul took 26 draws, winning 15 (54%). No other Senators centre was in double digits in faceoffs.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Paul at the trade deadline. He has made it clear he loves Ottawa and wants to remain with the only NHL team he has known. But the Senators will have their budget and Paul will have to fit in it.
Hopefully, something gets done. If Ottawa swaps out Paul for some draft picks, the team will again be looking for a heart and soul forward like Paul, who really “does it all,” as his teammates love to say.
Murray stays sharp
Matt Murray isn’t one to subscribe to narratives that his game was poor in the fall, and has suddenly rebounded. Asked to describe the difference between the Murray of late November the and Murray of late January, Murray didn’t budge:
“Uhh, no difference,” Murray said.
Murray’s November numbers: 0-4-0, 4.05 goals-against, .873 save percentage.
Murray’s January numbers: 4-1-0, 2.51 goals-against, .924 save percentage.
I knew an old-timers goalie who used to say after a particularly bad – or good – performance:
“Sometimes the puck hits you, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Murray seems to have a similar philosophy. He insists there was nothing wrong with his game in the fall except for bad luck. The Senators hope his good luck continues, then.
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Break time
After a Tuesday date on Long Island, the Ottawa Senators will take a break.
They could use one. The Sens will have played 11 games in 20 days by the end of that Feb. 1 game against the Islanders, and the schedule doesn’t get lighter down the stretch. It gets heavier.
With nine road games in March and another nine in April, the Senators will need to grab their rest where they can, during February’s home-friendly schedule (nine dates at the Canadian Tire Centre) and on the front burner – this week’s All-Star Game break.
Ottawa will have six days off before facing the New Jersey Devils at the CTC on Feb. 7. Head coach Smith won’t mind if his players have their feet up for at least some of that break – maybe with some stretching and cardio work thrown in.
“Guys have got to mentally unplug here, because it’s going to be a real race after this,” Smith said before Monday’s win over the Oilers.
We will assume that by calling the home stretch a “race,” Smith wasn’t necessarily hinting that he expected his injury-depleted bunch to be entering the playoff race. A race against time, against a crammed schedule, is more like it.
Given the injuries, Smith has been pleased with his team’s pre-break performance. Smith knows his group is just trying to grind until some of his regular forwards return.
The hope is that Norris, who injured his shoulder from a hit into the boards last Thursday versus Carolina, won’t be out long-term, although he continues to be assessed. Dylan Gambrell should return soon but the rest are longer-term. Colin White is back practicing after his shoulder injury and could play by the end of the month. Winger Connor Brown is also skating, with a cage to protect his broken jaw.
In the meantime, expect a lot of “next man up” quotes from the team.
“I think we’ve done a real good job of dialing in, leading up to this,” Smith said. “Regardless of who’s been out, guys have come in and played well. We’ve been competitive. We’ve won some games we shouldn’t have, we’ve lost some games we shouldn’t have. We’ve played some really good teams.
“In this break, we’ve got to recharge and come back with that same mentality. Play every game right to the end of the year, hard.”
No issues there. Despite the injuries, Ottawa was 5-4-2 in January and easily could have had wins over Anaheim and Carolina last week.
Two-thirds of the top line are missing, No. 1 centre Norris and right winger Batherson, the Senators’ best forward and All-Star nominee. Batherson went down with a high-ankle sprain, compliments of a brainless hit from Buffalo Sabres goaltender Aaron Dell on Jan. 25. Dell was suspended three games for the hit and has since been waived out of the league.
The Senators power play has been decimated by the loss of Batherson and Norris, who have combined for 19 points with the extra man. Batherson is the key distributor, with nine power-play assists. Norris is the finisher, as evidenced by his seven power-play goals.
Smith will take his own break, including a visit to London to see his son, Colton, 17, play for the London Knights. Smith had COVID-19 over Christmas and didn’t get to see his son.
Asked what it is like to watch his boy in the OHL, Smith admitted he is sometimes hard on him. “Like a dad,” Smith said.
Otherwise, Smith plans to relax. Kind of.
“I’m going to do everything I can to unplug,” Smith saod. “It’s hard. Hockey is a 24/7 thing. But as much as I can, I will.”
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