After missing the first five games of the regular season, the King finally returns to his rightful place on the Ottawa blueline.
Erik Karlsson makes his regular season debut as the Senators kick off a five game homestand against the Vancouver Canucks.
The last time we saw Karlsson, he was willing his team to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Final.
We’d later learn that one of the best playoff performances in the history of the franchise was executed on one good leg. That Conn Smythe nomination he earned even though his team wasn’t in the Stanley Cup Final, yeah that was earned with torn tendons and a heel with multiple fractures. He was by far the best player in last year’s playoffs and he did it with a busted wheel.
EK65 is back. pic.twitter.com/gcgyE51XQJ
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 17, 2017
Truly the stuff of legends. And now, he’s back.
It’s hard to manage expectations with a player like Karlsson but he’ll likely have a little bit of a rust to shake off out there. He’s been practicing for a few weeks now but diving into game action is another challenge entirely. He was only just cleared for contact in the last couple days. So what I’m saying is he might only play 26 minutes tonight.
He’ll start on a pair with Dion Phaenuf but he’ll likely take shifts with all the LD before the night is out.
Meanwhile, the Senators have done more than tread water without their Captain. They’ve earned points in all five games and are coming off an impressive stroll through Western Canada. Three straight victories with the last two coming in a back to back in Calgary and Edmonton, by a combined score of 12-1.
Oh and they’re getting their best player back now.
With Karlsson back in the line up, Head Coach Guy Boucher will have to make a decision on his line up. As of yesterday, he was still considering the possibility of going with 11/7 again. If he goes with the usual 12 forwards, Logan Brown would draw in and based on yesterday’s combinations, Mark Borowiecki would be the odd man out. We’ll find out for sure when the Senators hit the ice for their morning skate at 10:30 AM.
Here’s how Boucher lined them up yesterday.
Ryan-Brassard-Stone
Smith-Turris-Dzingel
Hoffman-Pageau-Pyatt
Thompson-Brown-Burrows
Phaneuf-Karlsson
Oduya-Ceci
Claesson-Wideman
Borowiecki
Craig Anderson gets the start for Ottawa. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 1-2-1 | 3-0-2 |
| Goals For | 2.25 (23rd) | 3.80 (7th) |
| Goals Against | 3.25 (18th) | 1.60 (1st) |
| Power Play | 8.7% (25th) | 17.8% (17th) |
| Penalty Kill | 87.5% (6th) | 100.0% (1st) |
| Shots For/Shots Against | 28.8 (28th) 31.0 (10th) |
34.2 (8th) 29.4 (7th) |
| Ice Time Leaders | Del Zotto (23:42) Tanev (20:28) Hutton (19:38) |
Ceci (23:06) Phaneuf (22:09) Claesson (21:01) |
| Leading Scorers | Vanek (2 pts) Sedin (2 pts) Sedin (2 pts) |
Turris (7 pts) Stone (6 pts) Brassard (6 pts) |
