(UPDATE 10:45 AM)- There has been plenty of talk about it the last couple days and today the Sens made it official- defenceman Mark Borowiecki has been signed to a two year contract extension, worth an average of $1.2 million per season.
As Sens fans, we remember exactly how it felt.
It had been almost four hours. More than 240 minutes of breathless, heart in your throat action. The kind of night where you had to remind yourself to occasionally exhale. It was awful. It was excruciating. It was incredible.
And then just before midnight, a fluttering shot cruelly snuck under the crossbar and found the back of the next. Suddenly, it was over. You can probably still hear the stunned silence that filled whatever room you were in that night. In an instant, an unlikely push filled with some of the most memorable moments in franchise history, had come to an end.
Much later than usual and yet somehow, it still felt way too soon.
We all know exactly how it felt that night but more importantly, how the six weeks before that shot felt. The overtime winners, the inspirational play of Clarke MacArthur and Craig Anderson, the performance of a lifetime by Erik Karlsson. All of those moments are still fresh in our minds.
And that’s why we, both players and fans, so desperately want to get back there again.
Make no mistake about it- the road back is a long one. You might even think it’s unlikely this team can make it there again and take that next step. But you almost certainly thought the same thing just 12 months ago.
Tonight, the Ottawa Senators begin their regular season at the Canadian Tire Centre as they welcome Alex Ovechkin and the defending President’s Trophy winner, the Washington Capitals.
The Sens aren’t exactly easing into things on opening night as they go head to head with a powerhouse from last season.
This is a Washington team that was the class of the NHL from wire to wire last year. No real weaknesses in their line up. Guy Boucher’s team will want to keep this one fairly tight, which also happens to be a game the Capitals are more than comfortable in, as they also gave up the fewest goals last year, averaging just 2.16 goals against/per game.
Some good news on the injury front yesterday as Head Coach Guy Boucher declared that Derick Brassard is healthy and ready to go. It may take Brassard some time to get up to speed but that’s a huge addition for the team up front.
It wasn’t all good news of course as it doesn’t sound like Erik Karlsson will play in the opener.
Sens Head Coach Guy Boucher speaks with the media about his line up for tomorrow’s home opener and his team reinvigorating their identity. pic.twitter.com/b2ETCKRb5g
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) October 4, 2017
Although until the game starts, I’ll still be half-expecting him to make a surprise appearance. And even after puck drop, I’ll keep one eye on the tunnel from time to time. Dorion mentioned to the media this morning that Karlsson won’t play tonight but it was hopeful for Saturday against Detroit.
The Senators are on the ice for their morning skate and it looks like they’ll go with the same combinations as the last few days of practice. Alex Formenton will be the odd man out up front. 19 year old Logan Brown makes his NHL debut though, wearing his dad’s old number 21. He’ll start on a line with Ryan Dzingel and Alex Burrows but should also see the occasional power play shift.
Here’s how the Coach has lined them up the last couple days at practice.
Smith-Turris-Hoffman
Ryan-Brassard-Stone
Pyatt-Pageau-Thompson
Dzingel-Brown-Burrows
Oduya-Ceci
Phaneuf-Claesson
Borowiecki-Wideman
Craig Anderson gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM and the game is available on TSN5.
Not surprisingly, the so-called experts are once again lining up with reasons why this team won’t repeat their success of last year and in many cases, why they’ll miss the playoffs entirely. We’re used to that by now. It happened at this time last year. And it happened regularly throughout the post-season.
Thankfully, we’re also used to this team making those experts look silly.
The Senators line up is still stacked with high-end underrated talent. Mike Hoffman has the speed and shot to score 40. A healthy Mark Stone has proven he’s among the top young forwards in the game. The trio of Turris, Brassard and Pageau has gone toe to toe with the league’s best centres and proved they can hang with them. In goal, Craig Anderson is one of the most underrated goalies in the game. And even if it’s not tonight, for half of almost every game, the blueline is patrolled by one of the league’s most dynamic players and the best defenceman of our generation in Erik Karlsson.
Doubt them if you must. But don’t be surprised if they find a way to prove you wrong.
As is Opening Night tradition, a call to all the comment section lurkers. Stop by and give us your thoughts on the upcoming season or even just a quick Go Sens Go!
Enjoy the season, everyone!
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 55-19-8 (118 pts) | 44-28-10 (98 pts) |
| Head to Head | 2-1-0 Leading Scorer: OSHIE (2 pts) |
1-2-0 Leading Scorer: DZINGEL (2 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.18 (3rd) | 2.51 (22nd) |
| Goals Against | 2.16 (1st) | 2.56 (10th) |
| Power Play | 23.1% (4th) | 17.0% (23rd) |
| Penalty Kill | 83.8% (7th) | 79.7% (22nd) |
| Shots For/Shots Against | 30.4 (13th) 27.8 (4th) |
30.0 (17th) 30.1 (15th) |
