You know, it’s kinda nice to have all that deadline talk out of the way.
Now we can get back to talking about the product on the ice which if you’ll recall, has been pretty damn good lately. The Ottawa Senators roll into Minnesota riding a five game winning streak including an unprecedented three game sweep through California.
Tonight’s opposition, the Minnesota Wild, have been playing some pretty good hockey lately too. The Wild have won back to back games, have a 7-2-1 record in their last ten and are making a late push for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. They currently sit three points up on the Kings for the final spot in the West.
It’s sort of been a running theme on this road trip but the Senators will be playing another desperate team tonight.
And with this recent win streak, the Ottawa Senators should be every bit as desperate. The Sens sit 7 points back of Boston for the final spot with a couple games in hand. They’ll play those games in hand the next two nights with the Bruins off until Thursday night.
The Senators were on the ice for practice yesterday and seemed like they’ll make just the one change from the other night night in San Jose. Lazar is ready to return and based on the combinations Cameron used yesterday, Colin Greening is the odd man out. Jared Cowen is eligible to return from suspension but it looks like he’ll be a healthy scratch. We’ll wait for official updates from the morning skate but here’s how the Senators are expected to line up in Minnesota.
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
Michalek-Turris-Stone
Condra-Pageau-Lazar
Puempel-Legwand-Chiasson
Methot-Karlsson
Wiercioch-Ceci
Borowiecki-Gryba
The NHL’s First Star of the Week Andrew Hammond gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Craig Anderson will dress as his back up and right now anyway, is expected to start tomorrow in Winnipeg. Puck drop is at a far more reasonable 8:00 PM tonight in Minnesota.
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DEADLINE WRAP-UP
-I’ve seen a lot of criticism of Bryan Murray for standing pat on deadline day and I’m not really sure that’s fair. In the end, the only “decision” Murray made was keeping Erik Condra. And with the way Condra has played lately and the return he was getting from the team with interest (late pick + retained salary), it’s hard to blame Murray for hanging on to him. Everything else Murray tried to do, including moving veterans like Phillips, Neil, Legwand, Greening and Michalek, required another team showing interest. On deadline day, that just didn’t materialize. And as Murray suggested in his post-deadline press conference (LISTEN HERE), he had conversations about moving a defenceman but the deal fell through.
-In case you missed it, Ian Mendes had a fascinating interview with Bryan Murray moments after the deadline passed. Mendes asked a bunch of interesting questions, particularly about the Senators’ blueline, that really helped shine a light on how the organization views some of those players moving forward. There was also a series of somewhat concerning analytics related comments that seemed to suggest that while the Management group is looking at them, maybe they don’t completely understand them just yet. I really don’t think a GM has to be an expert in analytics but I would certainly like it if they understood it better than the average fan.
-In the interview mentioned above, Murray had some pretty glowing reviews for Andrew Hammond. He talked about how Hammond’s emergence means the organization is now three goalies deep and will have some decisions to make this summer. This comment really stood out for me, especially with rumours that the Senators may be willing to move a goalie at some point this summer. While the deadline was quiet, I can almost guarantee that won’t be the case this summer. I am expecting a deal and more than likely, a big one.
