A step back, is what they called it.
After consecutive wins over the Penguins and Maple Leafs, the Ottawa Senators laid an egg on Friday night against the New Jersey Devils. It was the kind of effort that made it clear that Jacques Martin has a lot of work left to do with this group. It also highlighted just how fragile these guys are right now.
The Senators will look to bounce back when they host the Buffalo Sabres on New Year’s Eve.
And now, to reset the vibes a little bit heading into tonight’s game, a random collection of good things that have happened against the Sabres over the years.
No morning skate today but Jacques Martin is expected to meet with the media around 10:00 AM to confirm any lineup changes. Based on combinations at practice yesterday, it sounds like Zack MacEwen could draw in for Angus Crookshank.
This is how they were lined up at yesterday’s practice.
Tkachuk-Norris-Giroux
Tarasenko-Stützle-Batherson
Kubalik-Greig-Kelly
Smejkal-Kastelic-MacEwen
Sanderson-Chabot
Chychrun-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Bernard Docker
Would assume Anton Forsberg gets the start in goal.
Puck drop is scheduled for 6:08 PM which means you’ll have plenty of time to watch the game and then still pass out well before midnight. The game is available on TSN5, TSN1200 and on a wide-variety of streaming sites across Al Gore’s internet.
10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…
It’s the HEAD2HEAD Table!
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 15-18-4 (34 pts) | 13-18-0 (26 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.97 (22nd) | 3.39 (10th) |
| Goals Against | 3.41 (24th) | 3.58 (29th) |
| Power Play | 13.2% (27th) | 16.9% (23rd) |
| Penalty Kill | 78.4% (20th) | 71.3% (32nd) |
| Shots For | 30.4 (18th) | 32.3 (9th) |
| Shots Against | 29.4 (10th) | 30.8 (19th) |
| Leading Scorers | Mittelstadt-31 pts Dahlin-29 pts Skinner-26 pts Peterka-25 pts Tuch-24 pts |
Stutzle-33 pts Batherson-29 pts Giroux-28 pts Tkachuk-26 pts Chychrun-24 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Devon Levi 7-5-2 3.31 GAA, .889 sv% |
Anton Forsberg 6-6-0 3.29 GAA, .877 sv% |
