Ullmark makes 30 saves, Senators shut out Kraken for 4th win in row

SEATTLE -- Linus Ullmark made 30 saves for the Ottawa Senators in their fourth straight win, 3-0 against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday.

Shane Pinto, Noah Gregor and Tim Stutzle each scored for the Senators (16-13-2), who have won six of their past seven.

“Real good road win tonight, start to finish,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “I know they had 15 shots in the first, but I thought after the first 10 minutes, we really played a good 200-foot game.”

Ullmark has won each of his past six starts, allowing just five goals during the stretch.

“The past six games [from Ullmark] have been nuts. It’s been crazy to watch,” Pinto said. “We’re just lucky to have him.”

Joey Daccord made 24 saves for the Kraken (15-16-2), who have lost two of their past three, including 5-1 at the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday. It was the fifth time Seattle has been shut out this season.

“We threw pucks [to the net], we had the shot on our mind, I think you saw that,” Seattle coach Dan Bylsma said. “But I think Ullmark saw all of them. He’s a big goalie, he’s playing well. I think we probably had to get a little more dirty than we gave him.”

Pinto gave the Senators a 1-0 lead at 8:02 of the second period. He carried the puck into the offensive zone and scored with a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Daccord five-hole while fighting through a Ryan Winterton check from behind. It was Pinto’s third goal in as many games after he went 19 games without scoring.

“I don’t think anyone’s surprised when [Pinto] scores,” Green said. “He’s capable of scoring, obviously, more than he has. He knows that, we know that, and confidence is a funny thing. Once you get one goal, usually guys like that start to score a little more.”

Gregor pushed it to 2-0 at 12:45, taking a cross-ice pass from Ridly Greig at the top of the right circle and firing a snap shot over Daccord’s right shoulder.

“I think, in the second period, just a little too much frustration from not getting results in the first,” Bylsma said. “And then getting down by one set in a little bit.”

Stutzle took a lead pass from Adam Gaudette and scored on a breakaway that hit Daccord’s stick and looped in over his shoulder to make it 3-0 at 4:18 of the third period.

“Just a break,” Stutzle said. “I don’t think our line was good tonight, but we got a huge goal, and it always helps when you get up 3-0.”

The Senators sit just six points out of first place in the Atlantic Division after finishing 2023-2024 in seventh place, two points off the bottom.

“The guys are buying in,” Green said. “They understand our system now after 20-plus games. You start to feel comfortable within your system… There’s also a commitment from everyone to buy into it.”

NOTES: Ullmark became the fifth goaltender in Senators history to record shutouts in consecutive road games (32 saves at the Carolina Hurricanes Dec. 13), joining Damian Rhodes (1997-98, 1998-99) and Craig Anderson (2002-03). … Kraken center Matty Beniers became the third member of the 2021 NHL Draft to skate in 200 games.