We’ve officially entered that week of the season where it’s easy to forget there are actual games to be played.
With the NHL’s Trade Deadline looming, there’s plenty of talk about who might be headed where when the dust settles next Wednesday. And while this is always a fun time of year for fans, players remain focused on what’s happening on the ice.
Every point is huge and the standings are tighter than they’ve ever been. For example, a quick glance at the Atlantic Division shows just six points separating 1st from 5th. That’s the difference between home ice for the first two rounds and missing the playoffs entirely.
The Ottawa Senators continue a four game road trip tonight in Carolina.
Much like games in New Jersey, there’s just this unsettling feeling every time a stop in Raleigh comes up on the schedule. The Senators have beaten the Hurricanes twice this year though but both games were back in Ottawa.
The Canes looked like a team that was trending in the right direction the last couple years but they’ve taken a step back this year. Their 24-24-8 record has them sitting in the basement in the Eastern Conference. For all their struggles, Carolina has actually been pretty good on home ice, going 17-8-2 at the PNC Arena.
With the Montreal Canadiens continuing their annual free-fall, the Senators have a chance to officially pass them for top spot in the Atlantic. Two points back with three games in hand.
Line up for this one remains a bit of a mystery. Boucher met with the media in Carolina and said Mike Hoffman definitely won’t play and Mark Stone is a gametime decision. They’ll likely go with the same line up as the other night in New Jersey. The line up without Stone.
Dzingel-Turris-Pageau
Smith-Brassard-Pyatt
Wingels-Kelly-Lazar
Bailey-McCormick-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Borowiecki-Wideman
Craig Anderson gets the start for Ottawa. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
***
-A quick update on Matt Duchene Madness. Last night, Adrian Dater (a Colorado based sports writer with contacts in the Avalanche organization) had Sens fans in a bit of a frenzy based a couple of tweets (here and here) about Ottawa’s interest in Matt Duchene. Asked a few people on the Ottawa side of things and the consensus seems to be that this was a case of Dater stirring the pot a little bit rather than providing new information.
As we’ve heard over the last month or so, Ottawa is definitely interested in Duchene but are reluctant to give up a top prospect in the deal. Thomas Chabot is a non-starter and Colin White hasn’t been included in any offer to this point. And listening to Pierre Dorion and even Eugene Melnyk over the last couple weeks, we already knew this. The timing of the tweets from Dater can mean one of a few things. Maybe it’s an intentional leak from the Colorado side of things to drive the market a little bit? Or perhaps Ottawa is a little bit closer than they realize and their offer is one of the best and a willingness to move White might be enough to get it done. Or the most likely scenario- Dater is just hearing this commonly known information for the first time now.
Either way, Ottawa is interested.
-During Insider Trading last night, the panel mentioned that there are as many as 10-12 teams interested in Dallas Stars’ forward Patrick Eaves. His manageable salary is quickly making him one of the most sought-after pieces on a fairly thin trade market. Ottawa makes a ton of sense here but clearly they have significant competition.
