I have good news and I have bad news. I’ll start with the bad news.
It was the biggest game of the year on Saturday night and the Senators laid an egg. Their defence struggled, their goaltending was comedically bad and they completely squandered an opportunity to jump three teams in the standings and really put some heat on the Wild Card teams. Oh and they wasted a hat trick and four point effort from a red-hot Tim Stützle.
The good news is I got a fanny pack!
The Ottawa Senators look to bounce back when they host the Nashville Predators on Monday night in beautiful Kanata, Ontario.
No changes expected to the lineup for this one.
For those that were in attendance at the Skills Competition yesterday, it’s pretty clear that both Mathieu Joseph and Josh Norris are close to making a return. They both participated in the event and both looked damn good but neither has been cleared to return to game-action just yet. Soon though.
Here’s how the Senators lined up at the Game Day skate.
Tkachuk-Stützle-Giroux
DeBrincat-Pinto-Batherson
Kelly-Gambrell-Lucchini
Brassard-Kastelic-Watson
Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Hamonic
Holden-Brannstrom
Cam Talbot sat out the morning skate which usually means he’s the starter but DJ Smith said he’ll make a final decision later today.
Puck drop is scheduled for a slightly unusual 7:38 PM tonight. I have no idea why but I have all my best people looking into it. The game is available for viewing (Sportsnet One, RDS, NHL Network), listening (TSN1200), stealing (StreamThoseSens.org) and in-person attendance (SeaTeaSea).
Curious how these teams match-up but simply too lazy to wait and see how it plays out in real time? Have a look at the HEAD2HEAD table.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 18-14-6 (42 pts) | 18-18-3 (39 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.79 (26th) | 3.05 (21st) |
| Goals Against | 3.00 (15th) | 3.18 (17th) |
| Power Play | 18.0% (28th) | 28.1% (4th) |
| Penalty Kill | 79.4% (13th) | 82.2% (6th) |
| Shots For | 30.6 (20th) | 33.0 (7th) |
| Shots Against | 34.1 (29th) | 32.0 (21st) |
| Leading Scorers | Forsberg- 34 pts Josi- 31 pts Duchene- 30 pts Granlund- 25 pts Niederreiter- 21 pts |
Tkachuk- 40 pts Stutzle- 39 pts Batherson- 37 pts DeBrincat- 36 pts Giroux- 36 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Jusse Saros 14-10-5 2.77 GAA, .918 sv% |
TBD |
