SNAPSHOTS: Tim Stutzle, Moritz Seider will be centre of attention as Senators face Red Wings

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A couple of good friends will be foes again on the world stage.

While Ottawa Senators centre Tim Stutzle and Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings have had the opportunity to catch up off the ice at the hotel they’re both staying at in Stockholm, they’ll face off against each other at the Avicii Arena to kick of the NHL’s Global Series on Thursday.

The duo both honed their skills in Germany and are former teammates with Mannheim in the Deutsch Eishockey Liga. They’ve developed a close bond while working out together in the summer.

This isn’t the first time the two have faced each other in the NHL, but it’s the first opportunity this close to home.

Seider, 22, was taken No. 6 overall the Wings in 2019 while Stutzle was the No 3 selection by the Senators in 2020 and both are on the right trajectory in their careers.

Stutzle is excited about the chance to face his fellow countryman.

“It’s been great getting to see each other because we don’t get to see each other often during the season,” Stutzle told reporters in Stockholm following the club’s skate Wednesday. “It’s always fun to see him around, the progress he’s made and he’s been getting better every year. It’s fun to watch.

“On one side it’s fun (to face Seider), on the other it’s not. He’s so good defensively and he can also contribute on the offensive side. I love watching him, but I also love going against him and trying to beat him because it’s always a good competition.”

Coach D.J. Smith knows the relationship between Stutzle and Seider is special. Stutzle leads the Senators in scoring with three goals and 17 points in 13 games while Seider has one goal and 12 points in 15 games.

“They’re good friends and they’re both young guys that are top players on their respective teams and their positions,” Smith said. “I got to see both at the world championships last year, they were hanging out all the time. It will be exciting for them to play against each other.

“But friends and that aside, both teams are trying to win.”

Players like Stutzle and Seider are a reason why the NHL brought the Senators and Wings overseas.

“There’s a unique bond between those guys, kind of their upbringing and coming over to America,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “I just think it’s two really, really special players. There are so many good players in the league.

“I’ve said that before, the Tkachuk brothers (Brady and Matthew) are two of my favorite players, the way they play, but there’s nights when you’re playing Stutzle where he’s just ‘Wow,’ he has a chance to dominate the league. You can see him growing, growing and growing. So I just think they’re two really special players that have a unique background being from Germany.”

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FANS ON HAND

The Senators were greeted by some of their faithful when they stepped on the ice for the skate Wednesday.

A group of about 100 fans made the trip Stockholm for these two games as part of a travel package offered by the team.

Not only did they have a chance to catch the skate, they also had a visit from Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and interim GM, before practice. He was accompanied by former Senators defencemen Chris Phillips and Wade Redden, who also made the trek.

Captain Brady Tkachuk, defenceman Thomas Chabot, former captain Daniel Alfredsson and Smith all dropped by to say hello. Staios asked the fans to be loud so they greeted the players with a “Go Sens Go” chant as they took the ice for the short skate.

Tkachuk was surprised to see so many Ottawa fans in town.

“I didn’t even know that was a thing where the team, and I’m not sure how it happened, where there’s that many fans that we can play in front of,” Tkachuk told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson.

ZUB GOOD TO GO

The Senators will have defenceman Artem Zub against the Wings.

He left Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames at home after colliding with teammate Vladimir Tarasenko near the end of the game. Zub had missed seven games with a head injury, so there was some concern, but Smith noted he didn’t skate Monday for precautionary reasons.

Zub was back beside his partner Jake Sanderson on Wednesday in the skate.

“We’ll talk to the trainers, but he looked good out there and I expect that he’ll be good to go,” Smith said.

Chabot, who has missed six games with a broken hand, skated with a non-contact jersey, but isn’t expected to return before early December if all goes well.

“He’s still a ways away here,” Smith said. “He’s starting to skate and get conditioning. We’ll look at him in early December and see where he’s at.”

THE LAST WORDS

The expectation is the Senators will start Joonas Korpisalo on Thursday.

Korpisalo made 24 stops in the victory over the Flames on Saturday and it makes sense to go back to him. The Wings are expected to go with James Reimer because goaltender Ville Husso returned to North American to be with his wife for the birth of their child.

Reimer has a 17-6-3 lifetime record against the Senators with a .926 save-percentage and 2.51 goals-against average. He also has recorded four shutouts in those wins.

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