Looking back, it was a pretty successful trip through Western Canada for the Ottawa Senators.
They kicked it off with one of their most complete efforts of the season in Vancouver. In Calgary, they played well again, controlling the play for most of the game, but ended up with the loss. They then rolled into Edmonton, led by an inspirational performance by Craig Anderson, and managed to shutout the league’s highest scoring team in their own building.
They finished the trip with a 2-1-0 record, playing some of their best hockey of the season.
Now the Sens return home, looking to build off an emotion win against the Oilers. Ottawa will play their next three games at the Canadian Tire Centre, beginning with a match-up against the Carolina Hurricanes. They’ll play Vancouver on Thursday and host the Sabres on Saturday night.
Good chance for the Senators to get on a bit of a roll here.
The Carolina Hurricanes really don’t get a lot of attention around the league but there’s a lot of talent on this roster. They’ve stumbled out of the blocks a little bit, going 2-4-2 to start the year, but their play probably deserves a better record. Goaltending has been an issue for the last couple years and it’s been a problem early in this season. Eddie Lack and Cam Ward just haven’t been good enough.
Guy Boucher has his team on the ice for the morning skate and it looks like he’ll go with the same line up as he did in Edmonton.
That would mean another game in the pressbox for Thomas Chabot. I suspect the Senators must be close to making a decision on Chabot. This home stand seemed like a good time to get him into the line up but part of the problem is the five and six guys (Borowiecki and Wideman) have actually been playing pretty well. Tough to take them out. And while Chabot will obviously benefit from NHL practices, he does need to get into a game every once and awhile too. If Boucher doesn’t see that happening here this week, it may be time to make a move.
Worth noting that Clarke MacArthur stuck around for the skate. He’s still wearing a non-contact jersey but it’s another step in the right direction. Here’s how the Senators are expected to line up for this one.
Hoffman-Turris-Pyatt
Dzingel-Brassard-Ryan
Smith-Pageau-Stone
Puempel-Kelly-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Borowiecki-Wideman
Craig Anderson is expected to get the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
