Seven points. 53 games.
It suddenly doesn’t seem so impossible. Thanks to some better play of late, the Ottawa Senators are gradually forcing their way back into the conversation in the Eastern Conference. There’s work to do and many teams to pass before they would be within striking distance of a Wild Card spot but there’s plenty of runway too.
And at least for the next couple weeks, it’s really going to depend on how they match-up against the Detroit Red Wings. A quick look at the schedule shows that these two teams will face off three times in the next 15 days for some reason and with the Wings sitting four points clear of the Senators, these are big games. Very big games.
It starts today with…THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR.
Senators and Red Wings on Saturday afternoon.
While the Senators continue to deal with a fairly ridiculous run of injuries, there are signs that help may be on the way. First of all, the news on Tim Stutzle was shockingly good. The team said at least a week but it would be a surprise if it was much more than that. No structural damage, no more sling and perfectly executed locker room clap. All good signs.
At the same time, Josh Norris continues to make slow and steady progress from what was previously believed to be a season-ending injury.
First, he put on skates. Then, he joined his teammates at practice in a non-contact jersey. But yesterday, in a surprising turn of events, that hideous yellow jersey was traded in for a more reasonably coloured white practice jersey.
Still no timeline for his return but he’s pretty clearly way ahead of schedule.
Nothing new on Artem Zub, Mathieu Joseph or Jacob Bernard Docker just yet but those were all shorter term injuries anyway.
And that’s what makes this recent stretch all the more encouraging. Not to mention the season-long underlying numbers that continue to suggest this Sens team is far better than their record. If they were ever to get fully healthy, well then I suspect the Eastern Conference would be in for a rude awakening.
Some day. And maybe some day soon.
No morning skate for the Senators today because of the early start so we’ll have to play a game of “Guess the Lineup”. At least one change though as Tyler Motte returns in place of Jake Lucchini.
Tkachuk-Brassard-Giroux
DeBrincat-Pinto-Batherson
Motte-Chartier-Gambrell
Kelly-Kastelic-Watson
Chabot-Zaitsev
Sanderson-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Holden
Cam Talbot is expected to start for Ottawa.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 1:00 PM at the Pizza Pizza Palace in Detroit. The game is available on TSN5, TVA Sports, TSN1200 and on shady streaming sites all across the information super-highway.
Wondering how these two teams match-up but the early start means that you won’t have time to carefully analyze the statistics? Let the HEAD2HEAD table do the work for you.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 13-14-2 (28 pts) | 13-10-6 (32 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.07 (16th) | 2.90 (23rd) |
| Goals Against | 3.14 (18th) | 3.07 (16th) |
| Power Play | 27.4% (5th) | 20.2% (25th) |
| Penalty Kill | 79.2% (15th) | 78.6% (18th) |
| Shots For | 33.8 (6th) | 29.3 (26th) |
| Shots Against | 32.8 (23rd) | 31.4 (14th) |
| Leading Scorers | Tkachuk- 33 pts DeBrincat- 27 pts Stutzle- 27 pts Giroux- 26 pts Batherson- 26 pts |
Larkin- 27 pts Kubalik- 25 pts Hronek- 24 pts Perron- 21 pts Copp- 17 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Cam Talbot 7-7-0 2.51 GAA, .917 sv% |
TBD |
Also…ALSO….A L S O….
GO SENS GO
