There’s nothing quite like a win over a rival to help settle a restless fan base.
This five game homestand got off to an ugly start with a shutout loss to the Vancouver Canucks and a blown lead against the New Jersey Devils but the Senators were able to right the ship on Saturday night. That boring ol’ six goal outburst gave the team a much-needed boost of confidence and a long overdue first win on home ice.
They’ll look to keep it rolling as they welcome one of the top teams from the Western Conference in the Los Angeles Kings.
The Senators play two more times this week including another home game on Thursday against the Flyers and then rematch against the Devils back in New Jersey on Friday.
After a disappointing finish last year, it seemed like this Los Angeles Kings team may finally take a step from their status as perennial contenders. They’ve won two Stanley Cups in the last six years but nobody seemed to be giving them much of a chance this year. But John Stevens has his team playing some damn good hockey out of the gate, putting up an impressive 6-1-1 record. Last night’s regulation loss was their first of the season.
We’ll see if they can keep it going without Jeff Carter in the line up. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill.
Jonathan Quick started last night so it seems like there’s a good chance they go with their back up, Darcy Kuemper.
On Ottawa’s side of things, injuries are a factor too. Zack Smith is out and won’t be back until Friday at the earliest. Bobby Ryan is on the shelf for at least a month. And while this might seem like a good time for Pierre Dorion to pull the trigger on a long-rumoured deal, it doesn’t sound like help from outside the organization is coming any time soon.
Max McCormick was recalled from Belleville yesterday afternoon and he’ll play if Mark Borowiecki isn’t ready to go. Otherwise, they’ll go with 11 forwards and 7 defenceman.
No game day skate so a best guess at the line up for now.
Burrows-Brassard-Stone
Thompson-Turris-Dzingel
Hoffman-Pageau-Pyatt
Didomenico-Brown-McCormick
Oduya-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Claesson-Wideman
Borowiecki
Mike Condon gets the start for Ottawa. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
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 |
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|---|---|---|
| Record | 6-1-1 | 4-1-3 |
| Goals For | 3.63 (T-5th) | 3.63 (T-5th) |
| Goals Against | 2.13 (1st) | 2.38 (3rd) |
| Power Play | 17.2% (18th) | 17.9% (16th) |
| Penalty Kill | 90.9% (2nd) | 91.3% (1st) |
| Shots For/Shots Against | 34.9 (6th) 31.8 (13th) |
33.9 (9th) 31.0 (12th) |
| Ice Time Leaders | Doughty- 25:21 Martinez- 23:41 Muzzin- 22:59 |
Karlsson- 24:36 Ceci- 22:42 Phaneuf- 21:32 |
| Leading Scorers | Kopitar- 11 pts Brown- 11 pts Muzzin- 8 pts |
Brassard- 10 pts Stone- 9 pts Turris- 8 pts |
| Team Shooting % | 10.4% (11th) | 10.7% (10th) |
