Maybe it’s best if the Ottawa Senators went away for a little while.
Sure they just spent over a week in Sweden but obviously that wasn’t quite enough. Two more losses on home ice, the second in especially painful fashion, are a pretty clear indication that the Senators hate making the trip to CTC as much as some fans too.
A nice long road trip will help clear their heads.
The Sens will play 10 of their next 11 games as the visior in a stretch that should give us a good indication of exactly where this team stands approaching 2018.
It begins with a tough match up against Mika Zibanejad and the surging New York Rangers.
Perhaps what is most frustrating about the last couple losses and why some fans seem to be a little more on edge than usual, is the games are there for the taking.
Against the Penguins, the Senators came out flying in the first period but were unable to sustain their early pace. Then against the Coyotes, they missed a number of high-quality chances to put the game away allowing a late mistake cost them a point.
Those late miscues have been a recurring theme early in the season and have resulted in a lot of lost points in the standings.
The last time the Senators were at MSG it was Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson were the heroes on that night and with the team sputtering a little bit in their last couple games, the team could really use a strong performance from two of their best players.
Nick Paul draws in up front while Ben Harpur is the scratch on defence. Senators going with the more traditional 12 forwards/6 defenceman look in New York. No game day skate in the back to back situation but here’s how the Senators are expected to line up to start the game.
Dzingel-Brassard-Stone
Pyatt-Duchene-Ryan
Burrows-Pageau-Hoffman
Paul-Thompson-DiDomenico
Claesson-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Oduya-Borowiecki
Craig Anderson gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM.
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|---|---|---|
| Record | 8-4-6 (22 pts) | 9-9-2 (20 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.39 (T-5th) | 3.15 (10th) |
| Goals Against | 3.06 (T-18th) | 3.30 (25th) |
| Power Play | 18.3% (19th) | 23.6% (3rd) |
| Penalty Kill | 78.8% (21st) | 80.6% (16th) |
| Shots For/Shots Against | 31.6 (T-15th) 29.9 (5th) |
32.6 (T-10th) 32.3 (18th) |
| Leading Scorers | Stone- 20 pts Karlsson- 17 pts Hoffman- 16 pts |
Zibanejad- 19 pts Shattenkirk- 17 pts Buchnevich- 16 pts |
| CF% | 47.87% (25th) | 48.13% (23rd) |
| Team Save % | .898% (T-23rd) | .898 (T-23rd) |
