While the Ottawa Senators didn’t necessarily get that immediate “new Head Coach” bump we have seen in some other cities, there have been some encouraging signs.
In the last two games on that dreadful road trip, it started small. A purposeful interaction on the bench, here. A fleeting yet legitimate third period lead, there. But still no wins. Then in the last game before the break, they finally got the proverbial monkey off their back. An overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins followed by an impressive road win against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Ottawa Senators will look to take another step in the right direction as they host the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
Senators are expected to go with the same lineup as the other night against the Leafs. Both Thomas Chabot and Rourke Chartier were on the ice for practice yesterday but neither is quite ready for a return just yet. No updates on Mathieu Joseph but he’s expected back sometime in January.
Claude Giroux left practice early yesterday but according to the Coach, he’ll be good to go for tonight.
Game Day skate at 10:30 AM so we’ll confirm the lineup then.
Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux
Tarasenko-Norris-Batherson
Kubalik-Greig- Crookshank
Smejkal-Kastelic-Kelly
Sanderson-Zub
Chychrun-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Bernard-Docker
Would expect Korpisalo to get another start after a strong effort on Wednesday night but to be confirmed.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 PM at The Tire in Kanata. The game is available on TSN5, TSN1200 and as usual, internet links will be mailed DIRECTLY to SensChirp Premium members.
Wondering how these teams match up but 2023 has been a grind and you simply don’t have the energy to do your own high-level analysis in the most basic categories? The HEAD2HEAD table is there to help.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 18-13-2 (38 pts) | 13-17-0 (26 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.42 (8th) | 3.43 (7th) |
| Goals Against | 3.55 (29th) | 3.50 (28th) |
| Power Play | 29.1% (3rd) | 17.5% (23rd) |
| Penalty Kill | 78.3% (22nd) | 72.1% (30th) |
| Shots For | 31.8 (11th) | 32.4 (8th) |
| Shots Against | 29.3 (7th) | 30.8 (19th) |
| Leading Scorers | Hughes-40 pts Bratt-38 pts Toffoli-24 pts Hughes-17 pts Mercer-17 pts |
Stutzle-33 pts Batherson-28 pts Giroux-28 pts Tkachuk-25 pts Chychrun-24 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Vitek Vanecek 13-6-1 3.26 GAA, .885 sv% |
Joonas Korpisalo 7-11-0 3.54 GAA, .894 sv% |
And a reminder…
Hoping to make it official early next week but there are rumours that the good folks at Beyond the Pale will be hosting another SensChirp Beer Event on Thursday, January 11th when the Ottawa Senators take on the Buffalo Sabres. Save that date in your calendars!
