We. Are. Back.
Three simple words but in the case of the Ottawa Senators, it comes with a little extra significance. See, there are layers to it.
Back for another season, of course. The long regular season grind begins tonight in Carolina, where the Senators will take on a team many view as Stanley Cup favourites in the Hurricanes.
Back to being a team with real and legitimate hopes for a return to the post-season. Last year, the Senators made a brief but unsuccessful push for a playoff spot, ultimately falling six points short but taking a huge step forward in the process. When those chants of “We Want Playoffs!” echoed through the CTC that night, it was a message to the players and to the league, that we’re damn close. And that we want it, bad. Now this year, experts are tripping over themselves to hop on the Sens bandwagon. They see what has been built here and they recognize that this is a group on the cusp of something special.
Back to being a franchise that is respected around the National Hockey League and viewed favourably both on the ice and away from the rink. The addition of Michael Andlauer and his group of local investors is a game-changer for the hockey team and for the City of Ottawa. For the first time in years, it really feels like the sky is the limit for the franchise.
And most importantly, back to being to being a united fan base. Sure, some of us come at it with a more optimistic outlook than others but even the most negative among us can see the incredible potential in this group. Through the depths of the rebuild we would remind ourselves that better days were coming. Well those better days are here, Sens fans.
It starts tonight in Carolina. The Ottawa Senators visit the Carolina Hurricanes in their 2023/2024 regular season opener.
We. Are. Back.
The Opening Night lineup isn’t the perfect arrangement of players we spent the last 180 plus days dreaming about but it’s still damn good. Obviously it could use a whole lot more Josh Norris and Shane Pinto in it but the good news is it’s still jammed with Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk, Claude Giroux, Drake Batherson, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun and Joonas Korpisalo.
The Senators are on the ice for a game day skate in Carolina and as expected, it seems like the plan is to play with just 11 forwards tonight. Zack MacEwen didn’t make the trip and Josh Norris is still skating as an extra on the fourth line.
Here’s how DJ Smith has ’em lined up.
Tkachuk-Stützle- Giroux
Joseph-Greig-Batherson
Kubalik-Chartier-Tarasenko
Kelly-Kastelic
Chychrun-Chabot
Sanderson-Zub
Brannstrom Hamonic
Joonas Korpisalo makes his Sens debut.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 PM in Raleigh, North Carolina but there’s really no reason to leave this one to chance. If you have work or family or any basic responsibilities really, today would be a great to forget about those entirely. If society has any questions, tell ’em SensChirp said it was okay. The game is available on whatever the hell Sportsnet 360 is and TSN1200 has the radio call, which I assume will be delivered by whoever the hell Dan Patrick is. If neither of those options work, rumour has it the illegal internet streams will flow like water.
Wondering how these teams match-up but prefer to consume your Sens-related information in a tidy collection of rows and columns? Boy have I got a treat for you. The award-winning HEAD2HEAD table is back for another season and it’s best in class.
Hey. HEY…Can I get a Go Sens Go?!
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 0-0-0 (0 pts) | 0-0-0 (0 pts) |
| Goals For | 0.00 (1st) | 0.00 (32nd) |
| Goals Against | 0.00 (1st) | 0.00 (32nd) |
| Power Play | 00.0% (1st) | 00.0% (32nd) |
| Penalty Kill | 00.0% (1st) | 00.0% (32nd) |
| Shots For | 0.00 (1st) | 0.00 (32nd) |
| Shots Against | 0.00 (1st) | 0.00 (32nd) |
| Leading Scorers | – | – |
| Starting Goalie | Joonas Korpisalo 0-0-0 -.– GAA, — sv% |
Frederik Andersen 0-0-0 -.– GAA, — sv% |
