There’s no sugar-coating it. Saturday night’s game against the Boston Bruins was ugly. The Ottawa Senators look to put that game behind them when they kick off a four game homestand at the Canadian Tire Centre.
First up- Pavel Datsyuk and the division rival Detroit Red Wings.
We’ve talked about it the last couple days but this is obviously a huge homestand for the Senators. They’ve stumbled a little bit lately, going 1-2-2 in their last five. This little stretch of home games is a great opportunity for the Senators to right the ship and pick up some important points in the process.
Starting tonight against the Red Wings.
Despite losing in a shootout to Buffalo the other night, the Detroit Red Wings are off to a pretty good start to their season. Their 6-2-3 record is good enough for fourth in the Eastern Conference, just two points back of the conference leading Tampa Bay Lightning. Their Captain Henrik Zetterberg has led the way offensively, putting up 14 points in the first 11 games of the season. Gustav Nyquist is off to a hot start, Justin Abdelkader is clicking at about a point a game…oh and they have Pavel Datsyuk. He’s got five goals in his last four games.
This is obviously an important game for Sens Captain Erik Karlsson as he looks to put that ugly performance in Boston behind him. Elite players like Karlsson always have a way of responding after bad outings. I’m expecting Erik Karlsson to be at his best tonight.
Based on reports from the morning skate, it looks like the Senators will go with the same line up as Saturday in Boston. That means Colin Greening and Erik Condra are healthy scratches. Here’s how Paul MacLean will line up his team for this one.
MacArthur-Turris-Ryan
Michalek-Zibanejad-Chiasson
Smith-Legwand-Neil
Hoffman-Lazar-Stone
Phillips-Karlsson
Cowen-Ceci
Wiercioch-Gryba
Craig Anderson gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Jimmy Howard goes for the Wings.
Still plenty of seats left for this one. Head over to Capital Tickets to get yours. If you can’t make it to the game, TSN5 has the television broadcast. No TV? TSN1200 has the radio call. No radio? Well then the SensChirp comment section will get you through all the highs and lows of tonight’s contest. Enjoy the game, everyone!
Hey, I went the whole post without saying Daniel Alfredsson’s name! Ah damn it.
