The Ottawa Senators desperately needed a game like that.
It started 11 days ago against the Montreal Canadiens. And maybe even before that, actually. They may still sit at the bottom of the league’s standings but to anyone that has watched them closely, this team has pretty clearly turned the corner. While the results haven’t always been there, they are just playing better hockey.
That’s why Saturday’s win over the Winnipeg Jets was so important. They didn’t dominate the game by any stretch but they certainly played well enough to win. And for once, a puck bounced their way. They’ll look to build on that effort this week in Toronto.
The Senators kick off a three-game series against the Maple Leafs tonight at the Air Canada Centre.
Tonight against the Leafs. Wednesday against the Leafs. Thursday against the Leafs. If you don’t already hate the Leafs, their fans, their city, their smug attitude, their two “national” networks and their stupid faces, then you certainly will by the end of this week.
Down a couple bodies after the weekend trade that sent Cedric Paquette and Alex Galchenyuk to Carolina, the Senators are likely to do a bit of roster shuffling this week. Ryan Dzingel will have to complete a 14-day quarantine before he joins the team so he’s not an option just yet.
Yesterday, they recalled Joey Daccord from Belleville and placed him on the taxi squad while Filip Gustavsson was moved from the NHL roster to the taxi squad. Seems like there could be more coming today.
Here’s how the Senators are lined up at the game day skate.
Tkachuk-Tierney-C. Brown
Paul-White-Dadonov
Stützle-Stepan-Batherson
Anisimov-Norris-Watson
Chabot-Zaitsev
Reilly-Zub
Wolanin-Gudbranson
Marcus Hogberg starts with Joey Daccord as his back up.
Puck drop is scheduled for exactly eight minutes after the seven o’clock hour. The game is available on TSN5, RDS, TSN1200 and on the finest illegal streaming sites across the information super highway.
Here’s a closer look at this evening’s match-up which features the league’s 3rd ranked team in shots per game, YOUR OTTAWA SENATORS.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 3-12-1 (7 pts) | 11-3-1 (24 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.13 (29th) | 3.53 (4th) |
| Goals Against | 4.00 (31st) | 2.53 (T-6th) |
| Power Play | 13.1% (25th) | 34.1% (3rd) |
| Penalty Kill | 74.5% (24th) | 76.9% (T-21st) |
| Shots For | 31.9 (3rd) | 28.8 (23rd) |
| Shots Against | 30.8 (21st) | 27.7 (7th) |
| Leading Scorers | Tkachuk- 9 pts Norris- 8 pts Chabot- 7 pts Brown- 7 pts Dadonov- 6 pts |
Marner- 22 pts Matthews- 17 pts Tavares- 14 pts Nylander- 12 pts Rielly- 11 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Marcus Hogberg 1-5-0 4.23 GAA, .859 sv% |
Frederik Andersen 9-3-1 2.55 GAA, .909 sv% |
