They certainly didn’t go down without a fight.
The Ottawa Senators scratched and clawed their way back into the playoff mix in the second half of the season but ran out of gas down the stretch. The team delivered on a promise of meaningful hockey but in game number 79, their fate was finally sealed.
And now, much later than the last few years, the Sens are left to play out the string.
The Senators host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night in Ottawa.
While the playoff dream faded a couple weeks ago, tonight is the first real instance of a truly meaningless hockey game. And it sucks. Putting on a show for the hometown fans and the pursuit of individual accomplishments (Giroux is 3 points from 1000!) make the game worth watching but it’s not quite the same.
What is clear after watching this year’s edition of the Senators is that there are many more meaningful hockey games in their future. This team took a huge step forward this season and it’s clear that the best is yet to come. Just not this year.
A couple changes to the Ottawa lineup for this one. Austin Watson is done for the year after leaving last game with an injury which means Julien Gauthier draws in on the fourth line. Meanwhile Ridly Greig has been returned to Belleville which means Dylan Gambrell draws back in.
This is how DJ Smith lined them up this morning
Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux
DeBrincat-Pinto-Batherson
Joseph-Gambrell-Brown
Sokolov-Kastelic-Gauthier
Sanderson-Zub
Brannstrom-Holden
Kleven-Bernard Docker
Cam Talbot is expected to get the start in goal for the home side.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 PM in The Tire. The game is available on the television, on the radio and on the illegal internet streaming websites.
Presenting…The HEAD2HEAD table.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 45-28-6 (96 pts) | 37-35-7 (81 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.39 (8th) | 3.11 (19th) |
| Goals Against | 3.05 (13th) | 3.29 (21st) |
| Power Play | 25.3% (2nd) | 23.9% (7th) |
| Penalty Kill | 79.9% (15th) | 80.9% (13th) |
| Shots For | 31.9 (14th) | 33.4 (7th) |
| Shots Against | 31.5 (19th) | 31.4 (18th) |
| Leading Scorers | Kucherov- 108 pts Point- 90 pts Stamkos- 80 pts Hagel- 61 pts Killorn- 61 pts |
Stützle- 84 pts Tkachuk- 79 pts Giroux- 74 pts DeBrincat- 64 pts Batherson- 60 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Andrei Vasilevskiy 34-21-4 2.63 GAA, .916 sv% |
Cam Talbot 16-14-2 2.89 GAA, .900 sv% |
