It was at the fifty game mark last season that I declared the Ottawa Senators would not make the playoffs.
I’m not quite ready to write off this year’s Ottawa Senators. Obviously they are trending in the wrong direction right now and if you look at their performance in the first half of the season, there is plenty to be concerned about. But for everything that has gone wrong for the Senators this season, there are just five points separating them from the final playoff spot in the East.
As we learned last year, you don’t want to dig yourself too deep of a hole because it takes a pretty incredible run to make up any ground during the stretch run.
So if the Senators fancy themselves a playoff team this year, they need to get this thing turned around in a hurry. Starting this afternoon against the New York Rangers.
The Rangers sit second in the Metropolitan Division, a full 16 points back of the first place Washington Capitals. And while it may seem like they are on pretty solid footing in the playoff race, they are a prolonged losing streak away from fall out of the playoffs completely. And really, that’s the case for most teams in the East right now. This Rangers team has been dominant on home ice (17-5-2) but have had their issues on the road, going 9-11-3 away from MSG.
Their special teams have been average (18th ranked power play/24th ranked penalty kill) and while they’re often thought of as a defence-first team, the Rangers have relied on a surprisingly potent offensive attack through the first half of the year. They’re ranked 5th in the league in goal per game.
Ottawa will once again be without a few key players due to injury. Kyle Turris remains out of the line up with what is believed to be an ankle injury. He may not play again until after the All Star break. Marc Methot is nursing a lower body injury too and will miss his third consecutive game. Clarke MacArthur has been skating but there’s still no talk about a possible return. And now Milan Michalek is back on the injury list after blocking a shot with his hand against the Islanders on Friday night.
With Michalek out, Alex Chiasson draws back in. No morning skate today so here’s a best guess at the Ottawa line up.
Hoffman-Zibanejad-Ryan
Puempel-Pageau-Stone
Lazar-Smith-Chiasson
Prince-McCormick-Neil
Borowiecki-Karlsson
Wiercioch-Ceci
Cowen-Wideman
Craig Anderson gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 3:00 PM.
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