The Ottawa Senators found a way to win the other night against the Buffalo Sabres.
Back to backs are never easy but on the heels of one of their most disappointing performances of the season in Nashville, the Senators bounced back and picked up an important two points against a Division rival.
They’ll be looking to build on that strong defensive effort when they play host to the Los Angeles Kings.
It probably goes without saying at this point but the Senators have to find a way to ignite the offence. While they’ve done a decent job in their own end of the rink, goals have been pretty hard to come by recently. They’ve scored just six goals in their last five games with most of the team’s top players going cold at the same time.
Chances will be hard to come by against the Los Angeles Kings, a team that allows the least shots per game in the entire National Hockey League.
Despite being one of the league’s top possession teams, the Kings have had a hard time finding consistency early in the season. They come into this one with a 7-7-0 record, sitting in the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. They blew out the Flames and the Leafs by a combined score of 12-0 and followed that up with a 4-1 loss last night in Montreal.
The Senators catch them on a back to back but considering that they’re coming off a disappointing loss in Montreal last night, they should be a motivated group.
Chris Neil missed the game in Buffalo but is expected to draw back in tonight. Boucher will decide which forward comes out closer to game time. Chris Wideman will participate in the warm up but he isn’t expected to play. Here’s how the Senators are expected to line up for this one.
Hoffman-Brassard-Ryan
Dzingel-Turris-Pyatt
Smith-Pageau-Stone
Puempel-Kelly-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Claesson-Borowiecki
Craig Anderson is expected to get the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
