And we’re back.
Because of snowmageddon, the Ottawa Senators got an extended break of sorts. Four days without a game and a good chance to enjoy the holiday season and recharge the ol’ batteries a little bit.
They’ll need to be firing on all cylinders over the next few months if they’re going to have any chance of fighting their way back into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. When the puck drops later tonight, the Senators will sit a full 11 points back of the Washington Capitals for the second Wild Card spot. Sure they have three games in hand but there are also five teams to pass along the way.
They’re not exactly easing into things either.
Up first- the league-leading and generally good at everything, Boston Bruins.
Despite having a few days off, the Senators are still dealing with a whole whack of injuries. Josh Norris is trending in the right direction but likely still a few weeks away. Same thing with Jacob Bernard-Docker and Mathieu Joseph. Meanwhile, Tyler Motte has a broken finger, Rourke Chartier is out with an upper-body injury and Erik Brannstrom is dealing with a lower body injury from before the break.
Here’s how DJ Smith lined them up at the morning skate.
Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux
DeBrincat-Pinto-Batherson
Kelly-Gambrell-Lucchini
Brassard-Kastelic-Watson
Chabot-Zaitsev
Sanderson-Hamonic
Heatherington-Holden
DJ Smith didn’t name a starting goalie tonight but it’s definitely either Cam Talbot or Anton Forsberg. Or Pascal Leclaire.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 PM. The game is available on TSN5, RDS and on the radio at TSN1200. Normally I would suggest that you head down to the CTC and watch the Sens in real life with thousands of your closest friends but this one is basically sold out. You snooze, you loose kind of thing.
Wondering how the Senators match-up against the powerhouse Boston Bruins? Well settle in for the scariest edition of the HEAD2HEAD table yet.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 27-4-2 (56 pts) | 14-16-3 (31 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.88 (2nd) | 3.03 (22nd) |
| Goals Against | 2.18 (1st) | 3.21 (17th) |
| Power Play | 29.3% (3rd) | 27.9% (4th) |
| Penalty Kill | 84.7% (3rd) | 80.0% (13th) |
| Shots For | 34.6 (3rd) | 33.2 (7th) |
| Shots Against | 29.4 (9th) | 32.4 (21st) |
| Leading Scorers | Pastrnak- 47 pts Bergeron- 27 pts Hall- 27 pts Marchand- 27 pts DeBrusk- 26 pts |
Tkachuk- 37 pts DeBrincat- 32 pts Batherson- 31 pts Giroux- 29 pts Stutzle- 28 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Linus Ullmark 19-1-1 1.94 GAA, .936 sv% |
Cam Talbot 8-8-1 2.71 GAA, .911 sv% |
