You had to be there.
No seriously, you really shoulda been there. Home openers don’t always live up to the hype and in the case of this particular home opener, it felt like it would be especially difficult. The excitement level in the city had been building for months and in many ways, it felt like a night that was five years in the making.
Realistically, it would be impossible to match fan expectations. Except it did. And then some. From the moment you walked into the rink that night, you could just tell that it was going to be different. Not just that night but every night.
The buzz is back in every possible way.
The Ottawa Senators look to build off that Home Opener excitement when they continue their five-game homestand against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Just an optional morning skate for the Senators but no changes expected to the lineup.
Tkachuk-Stützle-Batherson
DeBrincat-Norris-Giroux
Motte-Pinto-Joseph
Kelly-Kastelic-Watson
Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Holden
Anton Forsberg was not on the ice for the morning skate but he’s still expected to start.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 PM at the SeaTeeSea. The game is available on TSN5, RDS and on the radio at TSN1200. Alternatively, you could purchase tickets to the game and head down to the rink and have just the best damn time.
Here’s a closer look at how these teams stack up via the HEAD2HEAD table.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 2-2-0 (4 pts) | 1-2-0 (2 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.25 (18th) | 3.33 (16th) |
| Goals Against | 3.25 (20th) | 3.33 (16th) |
| Power Play | 21.4% (14th) | 12.5% (22nd) |
| Penalty Kill | 70.0% (21st) | 77.8% (15th) |
| Shots For | 30.0 (20th) | 31.7 (18th) |
| Shots Against | 30.3 (13th) | 34.0 (20th) |
| Leading Scorers | Ovechkin- 5 pts Strome- 4 pts Kuznetsov- 4 pts Sheary- 3 pts Oshie- 3 pts |
Tkachuk- 4 pts Batherson- 4 pts Giroux- 3 pts Stutzle- 3 pts Pinto- 2 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Darcy Kuemper 2-1-0 3.04 GAA, .889 sv% |
Anton Forsberg 1-2-0 3.38 GAA, .900 sv% |
