After picking up a single point in their season opener on home ice, the Ottawa Senators hit the road for the first time this season.
Guy Boucher’s team likely surprised some with their performance on Thursday against Chicago. The young players that are going to define this rebuild for years to come all looked more than ready to contribute. Consistency is a challenge for all young players but it was certainly an encouraging start.
They’ll look to build on that against tonight’s opposition, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For the better part of 40 years, our rivals in blue and white have found new and remarkable ways to disappoint their loyal supporters. But this year, with John Tavares in tow, things will be different. Maybe they haven’t finalized that parade route just yet but it’s certainly in the final stages of approval.
That’s because on paper, the Maple Leafs look something like a Stanley Cup contender. Sportsnet will almost certainly remind us as much 20-25 times tonight.
On paper, their roster is pretty stacked. Well, as long as you don’t look at what’s written on the back side of the paper. For all the talent they have up front, there are an equal number of questions marks about their blueline which they have inexplicably refused to address this summer. It’s not at “Flyers refusing to address their goaltending” levels just yet but it’s close.
The Battle of Ontario, which was once considered one of the best rivalries in the sport, has sputtered a little bit in recent years. It just seems like whenever one team is up, the other is down. And the experts certainly think that’s where things are headed again in the next few years. But while the heated moments between the two teams have been few and far between since the early 2000’s, the animosity is still there among fans.
I hate ’em. I can’t help it. I just do. And it would be just great to hand them a loss on home ice tonight.
While the Senators played reasonably well in the opener, they didn’t come out of it completely unscathed. Max McCormick was hurt and is expected to be out long-term. Matt Duchene was also a little bit banged up but he is expected to play. As of yesterday, Brady Tkachuk was still considered doubtful due to a mild groin strain but he’s close.
Veteran Paul Carey was recalled from Belleville yesterday and could draw in depending on what happens with Tkachuk. Game Day skate is scheduled for 11:30 AM so we’ll find out more then. A best guess at the line up for now.
Dzingel-Duchene-White
Boedker-Smith-Stone
Formenton-Tierney-Ryan
Pyatt-Carey-Paajarvi
Chabot-DeMelo
Borowiecki-Wideman
Lajoie-Ceci
Craig Anderson gets the start in goal for Ottawa. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM but will be slightly delayed so the HNIC crew has sufficent time to drool over John Tavares and Auston Matthews.
The game is available on the new Sportsnet SHH, which can be accessed by pressing the mute button on your remote. And thanks to Al Gore, the game will be streamed across the information super highway.
Let’s win this one, shall we?
