The last home game of the season.
There are always mixed feelings that go along with it. Six months without live Sens hockey is just too long, for starters. At the same time, over the past few years anyway, there’s a bit of relief. Another long losing season is finally reaching an anticlimactic finale.
Except this year feels different. This is a team just hitting its stride and really, playing some of their best hockey of the year. Having the opportunity to watch Tim Stützle, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Brady Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot on a nightly basis- and especially lately- has been a treat. Worth the price of admission. And it’s a damn shame it’s coming to an end.
The Ottawa Senators host the Florida Panthers in their last home game of the season tonight at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Here’s how the Sens are expected to line up for this one.
Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson
Formenton-Stützle-Gaudette
Kelly-Gambrell-Watson
Tierney-Kastelic-Sabourin
Chabot-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Zub
Holden-Zaitsev
Filly Franchise gets the start in goal for the home side.
Tonight’s game is available on TV, radio and on the internet. As great as those options sound, the real play is heading down to the CTC, cheering on the home side, drinking two to five more beer than you had planned and buying a handful of 50/50 tickets even though you know if you ever won that stupid draw, you’d probably get way too excited and end up spending more than you won.
Anyway, here’s the HEAD2HEAD table.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 57-17-6 (120 pts) | 32-41-7 (71 pts) |
| Goals For | 4.14 (1st) | 2.75 (24th) |
| Goals Against | 2.90 (12th) | 3.23 (22nd) |
| Power Play | 24.4% (7th) | 19.5% (20th) |
| Penalty Kill | 79.5% (15th) | 80.7% (13th) |
| Shots For | 37.4 (1st) | 30.0 (20th) |
| Shots Against | 30.6 (9th) | 33.5 (27th) |
| Leading Scorers | Huberdeau- 115 pts Barkov- 88 pts Reinhart- 80 pts Giroux- 65 pts Duclair- 57 pts Ekblad- 57 pts |
Tkachuk- 65 pts Stützle- 57 pts Norris- 54 pts Batherson- 44 pts Brown- 39 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Spencer Knight 18-9-3 2.89 GAA, .905 sv% |
Filip Gustavsson 5-11-1 3.52 GAA, .893 sv% |
