They’ve won six straight, nine of their last ten and have points in 15 of their last 16 hockey games.
Just think about that for a moment. Let it sink in. At times, we’ve been so caught up in this incredible run that we really haven’t had time to step back and appreciate just how amazing the last month has been for this hockey team.
Everyone, myself included, was talking about a draft pick back in early February. Yet here we are, in late March, playing meaningful hockey games. In fact, with a point tonight against the San Jose Sharks, the Ottawa Senators would move into a playoff position. Unbelievable.
The Senators finally got a little bit of help from the out of town scoreboard yesterday. The Boston Bruins lost 5-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning and still have 84 points. That’s just one more than Ottawa although the Senators have two games in hand. If you’ve been following along with the playoff chances on Sports Club Stats, you’ll know that Tampa Bay win boosted the Senators’ chances to 65.5%. A win against the Sharks and that number increases by another 7%.
The San Jose Sharks have had a fairly disappointing season to this point. After a crushing loss to the Kings in last year’s playoffs, the Sharks lost what was remaining of the team’s identity. They tried to rebuild this off season but have instead only made things worse. General Manager Doug Wilson and Joe Thornton have been bickering in the media which is never a good sign. The Sharks come into tonight’s game sitting 8 points out of the final wild card spot. Not completely out of it just yet but pretty darn close. They’d have to run the table to have a shot in a tough Western Conference.
After injuries to both Milan Michalek and Matt Puempel on Saturday night, Dave Cameron is forced to juggle his lines a little bit. Zack Smith, who hasn’t played since December 13th, will draw back in for Ottawa. Colin Greening will play his first game since March 4th. Jared Cowen is a healthy scratch. Here’s how Dave Cameron has his team lined up at the morning skate.
Stone-Turris-Chiasson
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
Condra-Pageau-Lazar
Greening-Legwand-Smith
Methot-Karlsson
Wiercioch-Ceci
Borowiecki-Gryba
Andrew Hammond makes another start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
