Timmy Superstar is Having his Moment

Ottawa Senators Tim Stutzle (18) celebrates his goal against the Boston Bruins during third period NHL hockey action in Ottawa on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

In last week’s blog post, we lamented the lack of offensive firepower this Senators team seemed to show in the absence of captain Brady Tkachuk. Evidently, Tim Stützle took that personally. 

Stützle, who is wearing an ‘A’ on his jersey with Tkachuk and alternate captain Thomas Chabot both out for another few weeks, has stepped up in a big way. Against the Boston Bruins last night, Stützle bagged two goals, including the game-winning goal, and an assist on the way to a 5-3 win at home. It was the kind of performance that can provide a catalyst not just for an individual player, but the whole team. The Senators gave up a 2-goal lead, nipped ahead 3-2, before letting the Bruins tie it once again a few minutes later. It was the kind of pattern that could be potentially back-breaking, especially when coupled as it was with a series of questionable officiating decisions. Instead, Stützle grabbed the game by the horns by scoring the game winner off a slick feed from linemate Drake Batherson and then added the insurance goal into an empty net minutes later. 

His all-star performance allowed Stützle to leapfrog Shane Pinto for the team lead in goals (10) and Batherson for the team lead in points (19). The fact that Stützle is finding the back of the net himself, in addition to his usual playmaking exploits, is a welcome sign for fans. Many will remember Stützle’s breakout campaign in 2022-23, when he put up 39 goals and 90 points as a 21 year old. The two seasons that followed, where he failed to hit the 30-goal threshold or to be a point-per-game player, naturally felt like something of a letdown. Senators fans know exactly how good Stützle is, and how good he can be. Of all the young talent the Senators have assembled, Stützle is the one who is able to most consistently break games open for the team. Fans have been anxious to see his undeniable importance to the team expressed on the scoresheet night in, night out. In the 2022-23 season, Stützle managed a goals-per-game pace of exactly 0.50. Thus far in 2025-26, he is scoring goals at a 0.56 clip. Whether he continues this pace or not, Stützle taking shots and finishing plays himself adds another much-needed dimension to the team’s offense.   

A couple of weeks ago, Stützle elected to switch up his infamously weird tape job - on the advice of Senators legend and assistant coach Daniel Alfredsson, no less. Whether that is what sparked his recent offensive breakthrough, or if the bounces finally started going his way, is hard to say. But the end result has been remarkably positive for the team. After last night’s win over Boston, Ottawa is now sitting second in the Atlantic Division with a .611 P%. The Senators are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games and are riding a seven game point streak, with three OT losses plugging the gaps in between their six wins. Even at times when the on-ice performance is frustrating to watch at times, the results are rolling in. 

The news off the ice has been largely positive, too. Prior to yesterday’s game, the team announced that they had extended Pinto for four years at an AAV of $7.5 million. Pinto promptly celebrated by scoring his 9th of the year, doing well to finish off a nice saucer pass from equally hot teammate Michael Amadio. Pinto’s ability to provide offense from further down in the lineup, sometimes on the second line and sometimes on the third, is another welcome development. 

The challenge remains consistency, though. The defence corps received another blow when Nick Jensen exited yesterday’s game with an upper-body injury. In the short-term it’s a role that Jordan Spence should be able to fill, much to the relief of those clamouring for him to do so even prior to the injury. In the long-term, it means the team is one injury away from having to call down to Belleville for a RHD. Could that be top-prospect Carter Yakemchuk’s music? Only time will tell. 

If the Senators can continue to put up positive results in spite of the knocks they keep picking up, it certainly bodes well for the team’s chances of making the postseason. And if Stützle can keep racking up the goals, then the math gets a lot easier.

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