Anton Forsberg steals the show with a win over the Utah Hockey Club

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The backup plan worked out perfectly for the Ottawa Senators.

Playing for the first time in franchise history against the Utah Hockey Club, goaltender Anton Forsberg played the hero's role by making 31 stops in his sixth career shutout as the Senators cruised to a 4-0 win on Tuesday night at the Delta Center Salt Lake City scored in front of 11,131 spectators.

Captain Brady Tkachuk extended his point streak to six games in a row with his third win of the season, while Ridly Greig, Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson also contributed as the Senators closed the door on the league's newest franchise.

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After a 5-4 home win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, the Senators were forced to return to Forsberg after it was determined late Monday that Linus Ullmark was not ready to return following an undisclosed muscle strain.

“It was great. When our goalie went down, it was nice to see (Forsberg) step in and play good hockey for us,” alternate captain Thomas Chabot told TSN 1200's Gord Wilson. “It was just a nice road win in general. He made the big saves at the right times and I think we just played a smart 60 minutes.”

ASCEND

You have to make the most of your opportunities, and the Senators did as they found their strength in the first period.

“The first third was almost a story of two periods,” said coach Travis Green. “It took us 10 minutes to get our legs under us and get up to the tempo of the game. We were a little on our heels.”

Batherson had shot 8-1 in the first 11 minutes, scored on the club's second shot with a wrister from the circle at 11:43 of the first and then went up 2-0 on a Giroux goal 23 seconds later Guide.

Giroux narrowly beat Utah goalkeeper Connor Ingram after a perfect set-up from Nick Jensen. Give the veteran blueliner credit because he had an all-time rotation that helped Giroux move to 69th in the National Hockey League's all-time points list with 1,071 points.

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“I feel like when we scored our first goal it gave us a little bit of a sigh of relief,” Giroux said.

That seemed to wake up the club.

As if that wasn't enough, Greig scored his first goal of the season on the power play with just 1:55 left in the first period to give the club a 3-0 lead. Tkachuk then blasted home a rebound with 7.6 seconds left in the period.

Ingram, who allowed four goals on nine shots, was replaced by substitute Karel Vejmelka after 20 minutes. He was hardly tested.

“The first 10 minutes weren’t what we expected and (Forsberg) held us through,” Batherson said.

It's not how you start that matters, it's how you finish.

HEAT ON FORSBERG

The 31-year-old Forsberg will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and it will be up to him to decide whether he remains with the Senators next season.

While Mads Sogaard is on a one-way contract next year, he hasn't shown he can play at the National Hockey League level, and the Senators remain confident that Forsberg can form a good tandem with Ullmark.

This was an important start for Forsberg because it was unexpected and he had to put in a lot of effort. He was tested early, holding onto his stick as they failed to register a shot in the first 10 minutes.

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But that also happens when the goalkeeper does his job. The Senators have found themselves in this situation too many times in the past, and Forsberg has kept his club in it.

“That felt great. There have been some difficult bounces in the last few games, so it was good to get a good hit here,” Forsberg told TSN’s Claire Hanna after the win. “It was a team effort all around.

“We blocked a lot of shots tonight. We were under pressure, but the boys played well in front of me and tried to help me. It was one of those wins that was nice.”

The Senators blocked 16 shots.

Hard journey

That began a three-game trip that stops in Vegas on Friday and ends on Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver.

If the Senators want to make the postseason, they will have to be much better on the road than they were last year. As a guest in the 2023-24 season, the club posted a record of 16-23-2 in 41 away appearances, and that is not good enough.

“We know our road record wasn’t great last year and we found a way to win,” Forsberg said.

This was a tough test for the Senators.

Utah has good speed and the club came into this game with a record of 4-1-1 in their first six games. Taking an early 4-0 lead is better than the alternative, but the Senators need to show they can play for 60 minutes, especially on the road where the atmosphere can be difficult.

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