Forsberg makes 22 saves, Senators shut out Kraken

OTTAWA -- Anton Forsberg made 22 saves for the Ottawa Senators in a 3-0 win against the Seattle Kraken at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday.

It was Forsberg’s second shutout in three starts. He is the first goaltender to record multiple shutouts this season.

“From Day 1, we really believed in 'Forsy,' even when he had a couple games that probably weren’t his best,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “He played great. I’m happy for him. He had a stint there where he probably wasn’t happy with his game for a couple games, but after Linus [Ullmark] got hurt, he’s really found his groove and that was another great game tonight.”

Tim Stutzle had a goal and an assist, and Brady Tkachuk and Adam Gaudette scored for the Senators (6-5-0), who are 5-1-0 at home this season. Ottawa was coming off a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Friday.

“It was super nice to see the bounceback we had tonight from yesterday,” Forsberg said. “It was a tough loss yesterday. We played real well. And we come back in here again today and worked real hard. It was impressive.”

Philipp Grubauer made 20 saves for the Kraken (5-6-1), who were 0-for-4 on the power play.

“We lacked execution,” Seattle forward Jordan Eberle said. “We were having a tough time making passes tape to tape. The biggest thing I see is just a lack of battle level. We need to ramp that up. We have a whole other level that we need to get to here.

“I see, like, 1-on-1 battles, stick battles, 50-50 pucks — those have to be won. I understand you’re not going to win all of them all game, but you have to win the majority of them to give yourself a chance to win. Whether it’s wall plays coming out of the [defensive] zone, whether it’s stuff around the net, whether it’s just executing on the power play, that stuff all needs to be fixed up.”

Gaudette scored on a loose puck at the edge of the crease to give the Senators a 1-0 lead at 5:28 of the first period. The goal was initially waved off for goaltender interference, but Ottawa challenged and the call on the ice was overturned.

“I didn’t like the response after the [first] goal against there,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. “I thought our play dipped for a considerable [amount of] time after they got the call, after they got the goal. Really, we were never able to take the speed and the pace of the game to Ottawa as a result.”

It was Gaudette’s sixth goal in five games.

“I’ve been fired up for a couple years now,” Gaudette said of playing the majority of his previous two seasons in the American Hockey League. “But, you know, that whole journey is a learning experience. I learned a lot and I knew I could battle my way back and now it’s just about staying here.”

Tkachuk tipped a Jacob Bernard-Docker point shot to make it 2-0 at 11:11 of the second period. The Senators captain has seven goals in his past eight games.

“We’re sick of the continuous cycle that we’ve been on, since I’ve been here, of going home early and ‘shoulda, coulda, wouldas’ throughout the whole year,” Tkachuk said. “I think, for us, it’s just that this year’s different; this year’s mindset is different. We want more. We want more from ourselves, each other. But the great thing about this group is the belief we have in one another.”

Forsberg slid across to make a toe save on Eberle on a rush at 5:07 of the third period.

“We’re obviously a young team, but we’ve got more experience than before, in the past,” Forsberg said. “Everybody’s hungry. We know how it’s been before, and no one wants to be in the same situation again. Everyone’s really motivated to make a hard push for the playoffs here.”

Stutzle scored into an empty net for the 3-0 final at 17:46 of the third period.

“Honestly, I felt like I really didn’t have my legs tonight, especially on the rush, like, every time I was trying to go 1-on-1 I didn’t really have the legs,” Stutzle said. “But those are those nights when you’ve just got to keep it simple and stick with it, and I think that’s what we did.”

NOTES: Ottawa coach Travis Green is 3-for-3 in coach’s challenges this season. … Tkachuk had a game-high seven hits.