Linus Ullmark made 29 saves for his first career playoff shutout in the Ottawa Senators’ 4-0 win over the host Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
The Maple Leafs lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, but the Senators have claimed the last two, and they host Game 6 on Thursday.
“We just have to focus on one game at a time and now we’ve got to go back to Ottawa,” Ullmark said.
Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk each had a goal and two assists and Dylan Cozens and defenseman Thomas Chabot also scored for the Senators.
Anthony Stolarz stopped 15 of 17 shots for the Maple Leafs, who have lost 13 of their last 14 chances to close out a playoff series.
“I think our group tonight was focused and ready to go,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “I liked our start of the game . . . We’re up 3-2 in the series.”
Chabot gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead 3:46 into the second period.
Stutzle won the faceoff and he and Tkachuk combined to get the puck to Chabot at the left point. Chabot moved to the center of the ice, and from just inside the blue line, beat Stolarz with a wrist shot for his first career playoff goal.
Stolarz used his glove to knock away a slap shot by Tkachuk from the slot 56 seconds into the third period.
Cozens’ short-handed goal 8:24 into the third period stretched the Senators’ lead to 2-0. He scored from the slot off the rush after taking a pass from Adam Gaudette. It was also Cozens’ first career playoff marker.
Stutzle produced an empty-net goal with 2:51 left and Tkackuk added another empty-netter with 47 seconds to go.
The Maple Leafs outshot the Senators 12-4 in the first period, but Ottawa came the closest to scoring in the first 20 minutes.
After Perron hit the goal post from the left circle 2:06 into the game, the puck caromed off of Stolarz’s equipment and was sliding toward the goal line, inches away from it, before Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly knocked it away and under Stolarz.
After Chabot gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead, Toronto’s Steven Lorentz was poised to get the equalizer late in the second. He took a stretch pass from Stolarz and appeared to be in alone on Ullmark, but defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo and forward David Perron combined to bother Lorentz and knock the puck away.
–Field Level Media
