That blowout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs certainly provided a much-needed confidence boost for the Ottawa Senators.
They dominated the game from the moment the puck was dropped and came away with an important win on home ice. But that was the Toronto Maple Leafs. It will be a much bigger challenge tonight when they play host to Steven Stamkos and the suddenly surging Tampa Bay Lightning.
After a slow start to their season, the Lightning seem to have finally turned the corner and are looking like the Eastern Conference contender they were billed as at the start of the season. They’ve gone 11-2-0 in their last 13 games and currently sit second in the Atlantic Division. Goals have been coming pretty easy for this team lately, including a six goal outburst on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Senators will have to be at their defensive best to keep this Lightning attack under wraps. Despite their struggles earlier in the year, this is as deep a forward group as there is in the Eastern Conference.
Tonight kicks off a busy week for the Senators. They are in Detroit on Wednesday night, back home to face the Avalanche on Thursday and then in Columbus on Saturday. Next week they’ll play at home three times against Buffalo, Carolina and Detroit. If the Sens are going to crawl their way back into the playoff race in the East, they have to start stringing some wins together. The next two weeks will likely determine which direction this season is headed.
Ottawa got a bit of an unexpected boost on Saturday with Kyle Turris returning to the lineup. Having Turris back on that top line gives Ottawa some additional depth down the middle and gives Dave Cameron a few different options up front. With Turris back, Nick Paul will be a healthy scratch for a second straight game. Jared Cowen is the odd man out on the blueline.
Here’s how Cameron has his team lined up at the morning skate.
Hoffman-Turris-Ryan
Smith-Pageau-Stone
Prince-Zibanejad-Chiasson
Dzingel-Lazar-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Borowiecki-Ceci
Wiercioch-Wideman
Craig Anderson gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
-In case you missed it this morning, I had a chance to connect with representatives from the DCDLS and RendezVous LeBreton groups to talk a little bit about their proposals. Check it out here.
