There are nights when things just go your way.
Everyone is pulling in the same direction, the puck is bouncing in your favour, you’re on the good end of the calls and everything that can go right, does. And then there is whatever the hell that was last night. The Senators have had their fair share of stinkers this season but that was on another level.
Burn the tapes. Launch the ashes of said tapes into orbit. Issue a written apology to the fans. And get right back at it.
The Ottawa Senators return home to host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night.
The Sens really don’t have much to play for down the stretch but they will have a handful of opportunities to dash the hopes and dreams of their opponents. Tonight is a good example. While the Winnipeg Jets have done a pretty good job of dashing their own hopes and dreams over the last few weeks, the Senators could really drive home that final nail with a regulation win tonight.
The Jets are seven points back of the final spot in the West and with a regulation loss tonight, that would be just about it for them. They’ve been Sens’d before so may as well do it to ’em again.
Wondering how the Sens may line up for this one? Same. DJ Smith made it sound like both Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle could return for Ottawa tonight but we won’t know for sure until DJ’s media availability at 4:00 PM.
We’ll assume they both play for now because to be honest, I don’t want to look at a lineup without them ever again.
Tkachuk-Norris-Joseph
Formenton-Stützle-Batherson
Kelly-White-Brown
Gambrell-Kastelic-Watson
Brannstrom-Zub
Holden-Zaitsev
Del Zotto-Hamonic
Mads Søgaard is expected to make the second start of his NHL career.
I put in a call to the league and asked them to schedule this one after The Masters. Thanks Gary. The game is available and that’s all you need to know really.
As we reach the end of our time together, I know what you’re thinking- there has to be something more. More rows. More columns. More high-level statistics on this evening’s contest. Well good news, dear reader- the HEAD2HEAD table has all that and more. No, just that actually.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 33-28-11 (77 pts) | 26-39-6 (58 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.06 (16th) | 2.66 (26th) |
| Goals Against | 3.10 (19th) | 3.24 (23rd) |
| Power Play | 21.2% (15th) | 19.0% (22nd) |
| Penalty Kill | 75.0% (27th) | 80.6% (13th) |
| Shots For | 32.5 (15th) | 30.2 (20th) |
| Shots Against | 33.0 (25th) | 33.2 (26th) |
| Leading Scorers | Connor- 82 pts Scheifele- 69 pts Wheeler- 54 pts Dubois- 52 pts Ehlers- 45 pts |
Tkachuk- 53 pts Norris- 46 pts Stützle 43 pts Batherson- 38 pts Brown- 37 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Connor Hellebuyck 25-25-10 2.94 GAA, .911 sv% |
Mads Søgaard 1-0-0 2.00 GAA, .931 sv% |
