Before we get into this evening’s festivities, Steve Staios, GM of your Ottawa Senators, met with the media earlier today and provided some first half reflections.
He said pretty close to nothing (which is kind of what you want with these things) but here’s a quick overview of the topics covered…
-Staios seems generally pleased with where the team is headed, and especially in the last five games or so. Makes sense. The attention to detail has steadily improved in this recent stretch and the GM is happy with what he has seen under the current Coaching staff.
-On a question about being “Open for Business”, Staios made it clear that he has had plenty of conversations with other GMs around the league and that he’s always looking to improve the team, as per his job description. Two terms jumped out in his response including “leadership” and “complete players”. Whether it happens leading up to the deadline or in the off-season, the GM has certainly identified an area of need for this current group.
-Specific to Vladimir Tarasenko, Staios was careful with his words. He did say that he hasn’t had a conversation with Tarasenko or his agent to this point but he certainly seems like he’s a fan of the player. How could you not love Vlady though?
-Staios was asked a couple questions about Alex Formenton and as you would expect, said exactly nothing. He did confirm that he hasn’t spoken with Formenton though.
-On the search for a new Head Coach, Staios said it’s a bit of a work in progress. They have pulled together some potential names but the plan is to begin that search in the off-season. In terms of “criteria” he’s looking at in candidates, Staios wasn’t giving up much. Best in class though, for sure. Staios tap-danced carefully around a couple questions about specific candidates mentioned by the Owner in the Montreal media (which is a hilarious twist, by the way) including Patrick Roy and Benoit Groulx.
-On Chychrun, Staios said that he is “disappointed that his name is out there” but his answer seemed to confirm that he has at least had conversations with other teams about Chychrun. Or at least that other teams are asking. For what it’s worth, Staios seemed pleased with how Chychrun has looked on the right side and seemed open to the idea of Chychrun sticking around long term.
-With another important draft coming up (that I absolutely refuse to care about), Staios confirmed that Don Boyd is leading things on the amateur side of things and that those conversations about the upcoming draft are already underway.
Okay, now…about the game.
The Ottawa Senators have looked a whole lot better of late but tonight, they get a real challenge. The East-leading Boston Bruins are in town and before a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes last night, were playing some of their best hockey of the season.
The Sens are on the ice for the AM skate and it looks like there may be a couple changes to the lineup that dismantled the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. Both Dominik Kubalik and Mark Kastelic appear to set draw back in, which would mean Chartier and MacEwen come out. We’ll see at game time.
Tkachuk-Norris-Giroux
Greig-Stützle-Batherson
Joseph-Pinto-Tarasenko
Kubalik-Kastelic-Kelly
Chartier-MacEwen
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot-Chychrun
Brannstrom-Bernard-Docker
Joonas Korpisalo starts for the good guys.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 PM down at The Tire. The game is available on TSN5 and TSN1200 and on shady internet streaming sites courtesy of a series of tubes and satellites and the ingenuity of Al Gore.
Wondering how these teams match-up and not convinced the 30 point gap in the standings is telling the whole story? The HEAD2HEAD table reveals all.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 29-9-9 (67 pts) | 18-24-1 (37 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.45 (7th) | 3.40 (9th) |
| Goals Against | 2.62 (5th) | 3.60 (30th) |
| Power Play | 26.0% (5th) | 15.1% (24th) |
| Penalty Kill | 83.0% (7th) | 73.6% (29th) |
| Shots For | 30.5 (17th) | 32.7 (8th) |
| Shots Against | 31.3 (23rd) | 30.8 (22nd) |
| Leading Scorers | Pastrnak-67 pts Marchand-46 pts Coyle-39 pts McAvoy-30 pts van Riemsdyk-29 pts |
Stutzle-44 pts Giroux-40 pts Tkachuk-37 pts Batherson-35 pts Tarasenko-31 pts |
| Starting Goalies | Linus Ullmark 14-6-2 2.82 GAA, .912 sv% |
Joonas Korpisalo 10-15-1 3.46 GAA, .889 sv% |
