There is no sugar-coating it…he’s a polarizing figure.
Loved by some. Despised by others. Sure he’s a difference-maker on a nightly basis but there are times when he can be a bit lazy. Just kind of floating around out there, drifting aimlessly around the rink. His giant head and inflated ego can turn people off but to others, it’s that confidence that drives his success. So with all eyes on him, as you would expect on a day like this, the reaction is going to be interesting.
It’s Spartacat’s Birthday as the Ottawa Senators host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon in Ottawa.
Boooooooooooooooooth teams come into today’s game firing on all cylinders. The Ottawa Senators have reeled off three straight wins on home ice while the Red Wings are riding a similar three-game win streak, outscoring opponents 16-6 along the way. It certainly won’t be boooooooooooooooooooring, as these two teams sit atop the league in goals scored coming into today’s game.
The Senators will have to do a little bit of lineup shuffling today with Artem Zub unable to play after taking a puck in the ear against the Capitals.
Zack MacEwen was sent to Belleville to make room on the roster for Jacob Bernard-Docker. We’ll see what DJ Smith has in mind in terms of defence pairing but it might make sense to just slide Hamonic into Zub’s spot and put Benard-Docker with Erik Brannstrom. We’ll see.
The Head Coach will meet with the media at 10:15 AM to confirm the lineup.
Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux
Joseph-Greig-Tarasenko
Kubalik-Norris-Batherson
Kelly-Chartier-Kastelic
Chychrun-Chabot
Sanderson-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Bernard-Docker
Joonas Korpisalo is the likely starter.
Puck drop is scheduled for 1:08 PM in Ottawa today and Sparty’s Birthday party starts at 11:00 AM. With the highway closure, you should probably head out about 6 hours ago to make it there in time. The game is available on TSN5, RDS and TSN1200. If streaming is more your speed, our dear old friend Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooort will be serving up the illegal internet streaming sites closer to game time.
Wondering how these two teams match-up and want a table that is boooooooooooooooooth beautiful but also delightfully petty? Today’s HEAD2HEAD table has booooooooooooooooooooooooooth.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 3-1-0 (6 pts) | 3-1-0 (6 pts) |
| Goals For | 4.75 (T-1st) | 4.75 (T-1st) |
| Goals Against | 2.75 (T-12th) | 2.50 (T-8th) |
| Power Play | 46.2% (1st) | 25.0% (10th) |
| Penalty Kill | 86.7% (9th) | 87.5% (8th) |
| Shots For | 33.5 (9th) | 32.0 (T-13th) |
| Shots Against | 27.0 (T-2nd) | 27.8 (T-6th) |
| Leading Scorers | Larkin – 6 pts Compher – 4 pts Copp – 4 pts Ghostbear – 4 pts Seider – 3 pts |
Stutzle – 6 pts Tarasenko – 6 pts Giroux – 5 pts Sanderson – 5 pts Tkachuk – 5 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Ville Husso 2-1-0 3.37 GAA, .894 sv% |
Joonas Korpisalo (TBD) 1-1-0 3.53 GAA, .894 sv% |
