Dostal solid in his season debut
Goalie comes up with big saves but Ducks get blanked by Talbot, Senators to start trip.
OTTAWA, Canada — Lukas Dostal made his season debut in net for the Ducks and stopped 35 shots, but Anaheim was shut out by the Ottawa Senators 3-0 on Monday.
Dostal, who was recalled from the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls, made his fourth NHL start after Anthony Stolarz did not make the opener of the team’s Canadian trip because of injury.
“Coming from the AHL, you know, at the start, the game’s a little bit different,” said Dostal, who appeared in four games for the Ducks last season. “Took me maybe just a couple of minutes to adjust, but as the game went on, I felt pretty good out there, actually.
“Obviously, still upset we lost, but personally, I felt pretty good out there.”
Dostal made a huge save on Shane Pinto in the second period and bailed the Ducks out on a terrible line change late in the same period when the Senators had a three-on-none rush but couldn’t get the puck past the 22-year-old netminder.
“[Dostal] played extremely well,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “He made a couple of huge saves. Just an absolutely horrible change in the second period and he made a huge one there, but he was real solid.
“He’s a great kid. He’s a kid that you can cheer for a lot just because of his character, his attitude, how he works.”
Cam Talbot made 32 saves for his first shutout with the Senators, who got two power-play goals from Alex DeBrincat but suffered a pair of significant losses.
Tim Stutzle went awkwardly into the boards after being hit by Brett Leason and favored his right arm as he raced down the player’s tunnel midway through the first period. Stutzle did not return. Tyler Motte went down hard late in the first period and suffered what the team called an upper-body injury.