It has been painfully inconsistent start to the season for the Ottawa Senators.
Just when it looks like they might be getting their game together, they lay an egg like they did on home ice against Detroit.
Their 5-4-2 record is probably somewhat flattering at this point but if there’s a silver-lining it’s that a large portion of the Eastern Conference has been somewhat underwhelming so they haven’t really fallen off the pace yet. But they absolutely need to be better. Especially if they want to keep pace with the teams at the top of the Atlantic Division.
As difficult as it is to admit, the Montreal Canadiens have been one of the top teams in the NHL through the first part of the season. I really expected this Montreal team to take a step back this season but it hasn’t really happened. They have an elite goalie obviously but they’ve also been scoring goals at a pretty impressive rate so far. Their +26 goal differential is 15 goals better than any other team. Oh and they’re undefeated on home ice too.
The Senators will have to be way better than they were on Saturday night against the Red Wings if they want to have a shot in this one.
Obviously the Senators will be without one of their most important players as Mark Stone serves the first game of his two game suspension. The good news is the Senators will get a little help up front as both Mike Hoffman and Curtis Lazar return are expected to return to the Ottawa line up. Here’s how the Senators are lined up for the morning skate.
Hoffman-Turris-Lazar
Prince-Zibanejad-Ryan
Michalek-Pageau-Chiasson
Puempel-Smith-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Wiercioch-Ceci
Cowen-Borowiecki
Looks like Craig Anderson will get the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 PM.
Catching Up
-Because I didn’t have a chance to comment on it yesterday- the Mark Stone decision was certainly…surprising. I mean it’s not so much that I think it wasn’t an illegal check but more so that I’ve seen similar plays go unpunished in the past. Like for example, Henrik Zetterberg. The fact that Mark Stone has no previous track record for this kind of hit made me think the league might give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. Guess not. The league rarely does when it comes to the Ottawa Senators.
-The content is a little dated at this point but the podcast from my appearance on TSN1200’s new show Advanced Chats is now available! Check it out and let me know what you think in the comment section below. Thanks to Ian Mendes for the invite! I used to want to do sports radio for a living so to finally get a chance to actually try it out was pretty cool. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the people that do that every day. It’s certainly not easy.
-By now, you’ve all heard of Faces Magazine. The free monthly publication is available across the city of Ottawa and focuses on capturing the people, places and faces that make Ottawa such a great city. Well they’ve asked me (Blogger of the Year, apparently) to write a monthly article on the Ottawa Senators! Even though the first article was written during the preseason, the content is still at least somewhat applicable. Check it out! You can have a look at the full edition for the month of November here.
