After tonight, it’s safe to say the Coaching staff will have a pretty good idea where they stand with most of the guys on the bubble for a spot on the roster.
With just three games left in the preseason, the Ottawa Senators travel to Winnipeg tonight and uhh they’re leaving the top half of their line up behind.
Following the overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday afternoon, Guy Boucher mentioned that he’d be going with a roster primarily made up of the guys pushing for a spot on the team and he certainly lived up to that promise.
Matt Puempel will suit up for this team leading fifth game of the preseason. It’s an indication that coaches and management are still desperately hoping to see something from him that indicates he’s ready for a spot in the NHL. Although looking where he sits on the depth chart tonight in Winnipeg, it seems like he’s currently losing that battle to Phil Varone (who is tied for the league lead in preseason points) and Ryan Dzingel. Worth noting that Puempel wasn’t included on the roster for tomorrow night.
Here’s how the Senators forwards are expected to line up for this one.
Pyatt-Pageau-Varone
Dzingel-Kelly-Neil
McCormick-Paul-Blunden
Puempel-Nehring-Robinson
No defence pairings were announced this morning but the follow six defenceman are expected to travel with the team to Winnipeg- Chris Wideman, Thomas Chabot, Mark Borowiecki, Matt Bartkowski, Freddy Claesson and Mike Kostka. Safe to say this is a make or break game for five of those six guys.
Craig Anderson skated this morning but won’t start until tomorrow night. That means Andrew Hammond will play the full 60 minutes.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 8:00 PM and the game is on TSN3 and TSN5.
-Mark Stone was also on the ice this morning but will not play tonight or tomorrow. He did say there’s a chance he’ll play in the final game of the preseason on Friday night against the Sabres. Stone still expects to be ready in time for next week’s regular season opener against the Leafs.
