(Ottawa) Shane Pinto scored a hat trick in addition to collecting an assist in a 4-2 win for the Ottawa Senators against the Montreal Canadiens, who ended their preseason schedule with a fourth consecutive defeat on Saturday
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Pinto scored his first goal tied, his second with two more men on the ice and his third shorthanded. Michael Amadio was the other scorer for the Senators.
Christian Dvorak, at the very end of the first period, and Arber preparatory matches.
After Tuesday’s intense clash between the two teams, head coaches Martin St-Louis and Travis Green decided to give leave to their best elements in attack and they did well since the first period gave rise to very competitive play. animated.
The hostilities were launched early by Xhekaj, who applied a solid double-check against attacker Adam Gaudette. Zack MacEwan then threw down the gloves, but he regretted it since the tough Canadian delivered several good punches.
We were treated to another skirmish in the following moments when defenseman Kaiden Guhle, playing his first preseason game after undergoing an appendectomy, applied a solid check to Matthew Highmore.
It was the Habs who came away with a numerical advantage, but they were unable to take advantage of it, once again. Young defender Adam Engström had the best chance to score when his shot hit the post.
The Canadian will begin their regular season on Wednesday when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre.
The Shane Pinto Show
After only 44 seconds of play, Canadian forward Joshua Roy was the victim of a turnover and Shane Pinto took the opportunity to open his counter by jumping on a return shot from Noah Gregor.
PHOTO PATRICK DOYLE, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Noah Gregor (73) and Shane Pinto (12)
Michael Pezzetta, for high sticking, and Christian Dvorak, for tripping, found themselves in the penalty box at the same time a few minutes later and the Senators took advantage.
Pinto, again, redirected a shot from the wrists of defender Jake Sanderson.
Before the end of the first period, Dvorak reduced the gap to a single goal when he took advantage of good work from Brendan Gallagher and Alex Barré-Boulet near the net. He pushed a puck which ended up in the slot behind Linus Ullmark.
PHOTO PATRICK DOYLE, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Alex Barre-Boulet (27), Christian Dvorak (28) and Brendan Gallagher (11)
Like the first third, the Senators scored in the first minute of the second period when Michael Amadio redirected a shot from Artem Zub after 22 seconds of play. Pinto amassed his third point of the game in the sequence.
Zub was punished for holding Gallagher a few minutes later, but it was the Senators who took advantage. Pinto took the puck from Alex Newhook shorthanded and then beat Samuel Montembeault with a nice feint.
The star of the match made his move again at the very end of the match when he hit Logan Mailloux with no time left on the clock. Xhekaj, who was on the ice, clearly showed him that he didn’t like it, but the officials quickly intervened.
The robust Habs defender returned to the charge in the third period, but with his throw rather than his fists. He accepted a pass from Guhle before unleashing a powerful slap shot that deflected off a Senators player before beating Ullmark.
In detail
Successful return to school for Guhle
It wasn’t perfect – like his entire team, in fact – but Kaiden Guhle made a successful comeback. After missing the first five preseason games due to an appendectomy, the defender was the player most used by his coaches (21:25), who placed him to the right of Adam Engström. He stood out in the eighth minute by serving a powerful check on Matthew Highmore, raising the ire of the Senators players on the ice. To impose himself physically from the start was part of his game plan, he explained at the end of the evening. Touching the puck as often as possible also allowed him to “get back into gear”. “I felt a little rusty at the beginning, but it got better as the match progressed,” he said. I felt good. I will be at full capacity on Wednesday. »
Zero in thirty
The Canadian concluded his training camp with an immaculate record on the power play, having scored no goals in 30 opportunities spread over six games. Only the Tampa Bay Lightning were also shut out in similar circumstances, although they spent 20 minutes less (32 against 52) with at least one more player. Obviously, with all the members of Montreal’s first massive attack unit who were on leave, we will not draw any conclusions on the work of replacement players. Some of them nevertheless stood out, notably Adam Engström, who once again demonstrated his great ability to distribute the puck effectively. Joshua Roy, however, will not have a star in his notebook, while his back pass to Alex Newhook, difficult to catch, led to a shorthanded goal from Shane Pinto. Martin St-Louis indicated on Friday that the numerical advantage would be on the menu for training on Monday and Tuesday. There will be no shortage of work.
Pinto is ready
Shane Pinto missed the first half of last year’s schedule due to suspension. This time, he seems ready to start the campaign. Limited to just one assist in three preseason games before the Habs’ visit to Ottawa, the center had a blast Saturday by obtaining four points, including three goals. Hats rained on the ice after his third success, concluded thanks to a long backhand feint while shorthanded. He also played with the nerves of his opponents, at the very end of the second period, when he went to hit Logan Mailloux as the siren sounded announcing the end of the engagement. Officials, however, quickly put an end to the bickering. Pinto, 23, will be a centerpiece of the Senators’ offense in 2024-2024, having signed a two-year contract last July.
Simon-Olivier Lorange, La Presse