It’s kind of wild that we’re only 37 games into this season.
It feels like we’ve seen it all at this point. There have been stretches of dominant hockey, where the Sens look like a team ready to take that next step towards contender status. And then there are games like Saturday night where those bad habits start to creep in again. It’s not unique to the Senators but it does feel like it’s going to be an 82-game struggle with consistency.
The Ottawa Senators look to get things back on track as they kick off a four-game homestand against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
And they’ll do it without their number one goalie. Yesterday, we learned that Linus Ullmark has been granted a leave of absence from the team and that he’ll be away for an unknown length of time. It’s natural to hear news like this and think about the impact on the hockey team but this really should serve as a reminder that are things going on that are bigger than what we see as fans. Really hope Linus and his family are doing okay.
With Ullmark out, it sounds like the plan for now is to run with Leevi Merilainen and Hunter Sheppard, who was recalled from Belleville this morning.
There is some good news on the injury front though as it sounds like Shane Pinto and Tyler Kleven are ready to return. Both guys participated in practice yesterday and based on comments after the skate and corresponding roster moves, it’s a green light for both players.
A guess at the lineup, to be confirmed after the morning skate…
Tkachuk-Stützle-Zetterlund
Perron-Cozens-Batherson
Amadio-Pinto-Giroux
Greig-Halliday-Cousins
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Spence
Kleven-Matinpalo
Leevi Merilainen gets the start.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 PM, assuming the Blue Jackets can even get here. They were not able to fly in last night and it sounds like they may not arrive until this afternoon. Game is on TSN5, TSN1200, 104.7 FM or you can skate down to the CTC and watch this thing in person. Careful.
A closer look at this evening’s match-up via one of the finest collections of columns and rows you’ll find anywhere on the internet.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 16-15-6 (38 pts) | 18-14-5 (41 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.92 (20th) | 3.27 (8th) |
| Goals Against | 3.41 (29th) | 3.24 (22nd) |
| Power Play | 19.8% (14th) | 25.8% (4th) |
| Penalty Kill | 74.8% (29th) | 70.6% (32nd) |
| Shots For | 30.3 (4th) | 28.0 (19th) |
| Shots Against | 30.7 (30th) | 25.6 (5th) |
| Leading Scorers | Werenski-40 pts Marchenko-29 pts Fantilli-24 pts Voronkov-24 pts Coyle-22 pts |
Stutzle-40 pts Batherson-37 pts Cozens-29 pts Giroux-27 pts Sanderson-26 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Elvis Merzlikins 6-6-1 4.03 GAA, .877 sv% |
Leevi Merilainen 4-6-0 3.43 GAA, .874 sv% |