This is a big one. They all are at this point.
As the Ottawa Senators enter the second half of their season in Colorado, they have some work to do. Actually, a lot of work to do. Ottawa enters tonight’s action a full seven points out of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. As that last two-game hiccup made abundantly clear, there’s really not a lot of room for error. Every game is big and every two points is critically important.
Under normal circumstances, I might suggest that this Saturday night showdown against the defending Stanley Cup Champions is THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR. But it has recently been brought to my attention that the Sens are like 0-52 in games that I label as THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR. Anyway, it’s a biggy.
The Ottawa Senators visit the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.
DJ Smith will meet with the media again later today but based on yesterday’s comments, it does sound like the plan is to roll with the same lineup and same combinations as the other night in Arizona.
Not sure how long this current alignment will stick but the Head Coach sounded pretty happy with their collective efforts against the Coyotes. Mathieu Joseph is definitely close to a return though so there will be some decisions to be made in the near future.
As an aside, if you haven’t had the chance, yesterday’s availability with the Head Coach is worth a listen. In addition to the regular stuff including some high praise for Jake Sanderson, DJ provides a rare comment on his own journey in pro hockey.
DJ was a 2nd round pick of the New York Islanders but played his only full season in the NHL with the Avalanche. It also happened to be the year where he scored his only NHL goal.
In the interview, he talks a bit about what that year was like and provides his own reflections on how it impacts his approach to coaching.
We’ll confirm this lineup closer to game time.
Tkachuk-Stützle-DeBrincat
Giroux-Pinto-Batherson
Kelly-Gambrell-Lucchini
Brassard-Kastelic-Watson
Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Holden
Would expect Anton Forsberg to get a second straight start for the good guys.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM in Colorado. If you’re the type that likes to make an entrance, 7:08 PM is the exact start time. It’s Saturday so the game is on Sportsnet One which means, well it means Saturday is basically ruined. But hopefully the Sens can salvage it with a win. TSN1200 has the radio broadcast and the illegal internet streams are being served up by an ELITE collection of internet pirates.
Today’s HEAD2HEAD table is brought to you by…well it’s brought to you by me. You’re welcome.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 19-19-3 (41 pts) | 20-17-3 (43 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.02 (23rd) | 2.88 (25th) |
| Goals Against | 3.17 (18th) | 2.90 (12th) |
| Power Play | 27.1% (6th) | 22.9% (13th) |
| Penalty Kill | 82.4% (6th) | 75.0% (21st) |
| Shots For | 33.5 (6th) | 33.3 (7th) |
| Shots Against | 32.1 (21st) | 32.0 (20th) |
| Leading Scorers | Tkachuk- 41 pts Stützle- 39 pts DeBrincat- 38 pts Giroux- 38 pts Batherson- 37 pts |
Rantanen- 51 pts MacKinnon- 41 pts Makar- 39 pts Lehkonen- 26 pts Compher- 24 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Anton Forsberg 8-8-2 3.04 GAA, .909 sv% |
Alexandar Georgiev 16-11-3 2.71 GAA, .914 sv% |
