Murray, Senators blank Canucks

In Vancouver, Matt Murray made 31 saves  for the Ottawa Senators in a 3-0 win over the Canucks on Thursday night.

Murray has caught fire of late and is 3-1-0 in his last four games.

“I’m really proud of the way that we’re growing and learning and the way that we’ve played the last few games and the way we’re trending,” Murray said. “It’s awesome to see. You know we’re learning all the right lessons and we’re definitely pushing in the right direction here. And for me, it’s just awesome to see these guys competing and playing the right way and we’re getting rewarded for it, so I’m really proud of the guys.”

Ottawa took a 2-0 lead in the first period and Murray nursed that lead through the rest of the game.”It was a different game than last time we played them,” Vancouver’s Nate Schmidt said. “They got a couple chances and that was the difference. Thatcher played really well and we need to give him some support, especially after we gave up those two and he shut the door the rest of the way.”

Tim Stutzle jump started the Sens offense when he scored off the power play midway through the opening frame for the early 1-0 lead.

“We worked on that, we talked a lot on and off the ice to get better,” Stützle said. “I mean, in the beginning we were definitely struggling, and if you have a good power play I think it always helps a lot.”

Drake Batherson pushed the lead to 2-0 with a goal at 15:57 of the first.

“We’re having a ton of fun coming to the rink every day,” Batherson said. “We’re playing as a team. You guys can see on the TV, we’re super excited whenever anyone does something great, so I think that’s the biggest thing. We want to work hard for each other and for the coaching staff.”

Connor Brown added an empty-net goal with 90 seconds left on the clock for the 3-0 final.

Thatcher Demko made 22 saves in the loss.

“I struggled with it. It’s tough on the body. The biggest thing for me were just the fatigue, the body aches and some of the brain fog stuff,” Demko said. “I don’t know if anyone’s really at 100 percent. I know COVID took a toll on us. Obviously it’s tough to take that much time off, but we’ve got a job to do to come in and win some games here. That’s what everyone’s geared towards and ready to do.”