The Ottawa Senators have officially hit the half way point of the season.
41 games down, 41 to go.
For the most part, the Senators are what we thought they’d be. A pretty bad hockey team. They have a less than stellar 16-20-5 record, which has them sitting 28th. They sit just a single point clear of 30th overall.
And while the results have been about what we expected, the process has been anything but. See, the Ottawa Senators have been pretty competitive. When they’re at their best, they’ve proven themselves capable of playing with just about anyone. So that’s a bit of a surprise.
At the same time, the team itself looks nothing like we expected. It’s not a feisty group of youngsters cutting their teeth at the NHL level. For the most part, the Sens in their current form are a collection of expiring contracts and players with something to prove that are fighting to prove they belong in the league.
The Kids are indeed Alright, they just aren’t here. Yet.
Through the first half, patience has been the name of the game in Ottawa. Will be interesting to see how that approach evolves leading up to the Trade Deadline.
The Ottawa Senators begin the second half against their expansion cousins, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning are sort of the forgotten powerhouse. Last season’s President’s Trophy winners came into the season as a favourite again this year but an up and down start gave the impression that the ol’ first round hangover was going to linger a little bit.
But lately, they’ve started to look the part of a contender again. They have reeled off five straight wins, outscoring opponents 21-11, and have a 7-2-1 record over their last ten. While they sit third in the Atlantic, they’ve played three fewer games than the two teams they are chasing.
The Senators will have their hands full tonight.
One significant change expected to the Ottawa line up as Erik Brannstrom comes out and Mike Reilly makes his Sens debut. Brannstrom is back in Belleville and is likely to stay down there for a while this time.
While there has been some obvious progress in Brannstrom’s game recently, the Senators continue to preach patience with their most important prospects. Brannstrom joins a stacked BSens group that already includes Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, Logan Brown, Alex Formenton, Vitaly Abramov and Filip Chlapik.
In Mike Reilly, the Senators are getting an NHL-calibre defenceman in desperate need of a fresh start.
He put up big numbers at the University of Minnesota, did the same thing in the American Hockey League in his first pro season but just hasn’t been able to make the jump to the NHL level. The Sens are hoping a lot of that has to do with opportunity.
Mike Reilly will wear the number 5 that we’ve learned to fear around these parts.
Dylan DeMelo and Ron Hainsey are getting close with potential returns lined up for next week. Anthony Duclair is a game-time decision. The Drake has been recalled just in case.
Here’s how the Senators are expected to line up for this one.
Paul-Pageau-C.Brown
Tkachuk-White-Ennis
Balcers-Anisimov-Duclair/Batherson
Namestnikov-Tierney-Sabourin
Chabot-Reilly
Borowiecki-Jaros
England- Goloubef
Craig Anderson gets the start in goal.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 PM with the game available on Sportsnet One.
If you missed it, Pierre Dorion was on TSN 1200 yesterday and covered a range of topics including the thought process behind the Mike Reilly deal, the progression of the organization’s top prospects and Management’s approach leading up to the deadline and the Draft. Worth a listen.
Here is the HEAD2HEAD table, which provides additional information on tonight’s match-up.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 22-13-4 (48 pts) | 16-20-5 (37 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.54 (1st) | 2.78 (22nd) |
| Goals Against | 3.10 (T-16th) | 3.32 (25th) |
| Power Play | 29.7% (2nd) | 10.9% (31st) |
| Penalty Kill | 81.5% (10th) | 80.7% (17th) |
| Shots For | 32.7 (11th) | 29.8 (24th) |
| Shots Against | 32.0 (20th) | 33.1 (29th) |
| Leading Scorers | Kucherov- 42 pts Stamkos- 37 pts Hedman- 37 pts |
Duclair- 32 pts Pageau- 29 pts Brown- 25 pts |
| Starting Goalie | TBD | Craig Anderson 6-9-1 3.06 GAA, .903 |
