As the Ottawa Senators officially begin the second half of the season, it’s safe to say they’re pretty much what we expected.
While it hasn’t happened over night and there have been lapses, they’re a better defensive team. It has come at the expense of offence at times but they’ve made significant strides in their structure both on the neutral zone and in their own end of the rink.
The results have been, mixed, let’s say. Their 22-15-4 record is probably right around where the more optimistic fans thought they’d be. Some may have projected a bit better while a significant portion of experts had them quite a bit worse.
At the 41 game mark, they’re in a fight for a playoff spot and considering this roster, that’s probably right about where they should be.
The Ottawa Senators kick off the second half of their season in St. Louis tonight. It’s the first game on a three game road trip that will take them through St. Louis, Columbus and Toronto.
Coming into this season, the Blues were one of the teams expected to contend in the Western Conference. Through the first half of the season, it’s hard to tell if they are truly a contending team. They sit in third place in the Central Division with a 23-16-5 record, although their -5 goal differential is somewhat surprising. Still a pretty tough team to beat though, especially on home ice where they’ve posted an impressive 16-5-4 record.
The Senators will hit the ice for their pre-game skate at 12:30 PM today but no changes are expected to the line up. We’ll confirm these combinations shortly.
Smith-Brassard-Stone
Dzingel-Turris-Ryan
Hoffman-Pageau-Pyatt
Kelly-Lazar-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Borowiecki-Wideman
Mike Condon makes another start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 8:00 PM.
