This isn’t exactly the start the Ottawa Senators were hoping for this season.
With excitement and optimism at an all-time high heading into the new year, the Sens have dropped the first two games. A disappointing loss at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres in the opener and then a hard-fought loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
They’re hoping a return to the friendly confines of the Canadian Tire Centre will be just the spark they need to get things back on track.
The Ottawa Senators return home to host the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
It goes without saying but it’s been a long time since the Senators have had this much buzz around a home opener.
Not only because this is a team pretty desperate for a victory all of a sudden but also, it’s a chance for all that hype from the past few months to translate into energy in the rink. The combination of disappointing teams and pandemic-related restrictions means it’s been about half a decade since we’ve seen a sold-out Canadian Tire Centre.
Tonight’s our chance to make up for lost time.
The Senators are on the ice for a Game Day skate at 10:30 AM this morning so we’ll confirm the lineup shortly after. Here’s a best guess based on Monday’s combinations.
Tkachuk-Stützle-Batherson
DeBrincat-Norris-Giroux
Motte-Pinto-Joseph
Kelly-Kastelic-Watson
Chabot-Zub
Sanderson-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Holden
Anton Forsberg is expected to get the start in goal for the good guys.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM at the CTC. The game is available on TSN5, RDS and on the radio at TSN1200. Or, if you are so inclined, you can head down to what is expected to be a sold out Canadian Tire Centre and watch the game with me and 20,000 of our closest friends.
The tables and columns in this HEAD2HEAD table are certainly up to standard but the numbers in there, not so much. Here’s a look at how these two teams match up.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 3-0-0 (6 pts) | 0-2-0 (0 pts) |
| Goals For | 5.50 (2nd) | 1.50 (31st) |
| Goals Against | 2.50 (11th) | 3.50 (20th) |
| Power Play | 33.3 (7th) | 16.7% (21st) |
| Penalty Kill | 85.7% (5th) | 83.3% (9th) |
| Shots For | 36.5 (6th) | 32.0 (16th) |
| Shots Against | 29.5 (12th) | 34.0 (22nd) |
| Leading Scorers | Pastrnak- 5 pts Greer- 4 pts Krejci- 4 pts Clifton- 4 pts Bergeron- 3 pts |
Giroux- 2 pts Batherson- 1 pt DeBrincat- 1 pt Tkachuk- 1 pt Pinto- 1 pt |
| Starting Goalie | Jeremy Swayman 1-0-0 3.00 GAA, .875 sv% |
Anton Forsberg 0-2-0 2.56 GAA, .924 sv% |
