Yesterday, our Ottawa Senators hit rock bottom. Again. For like the fourth or fifth time in the last 18 months, by my count.
In fact, I’m sort of convinced that the goal Chris Kunitz scored in double overtime of Game 7 of the Conference Finals actually ended my life on earth and everything that has played out since then is some sort of punishment. A test, maybe? It’s like inception where it’s a dream within a dream, like I’m stuck in the upside down, like it’s actually the Bad Place.
When Kyle Turris was traded, that was the beginning of the end. And with yesterday’s trade of Mark Stone, it feels as though we’ve finally, mercifully, reached the end of the beginning.
In the words of my dear friend and longtime SensChirp supporter Shania Twain…”Up. Up. Up. Can only go up from here”.
For better or worse, for richer or poorer, this team now belongs to the youth. It belongs to Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk. It belongs to Colin White, Drake Batherson, Logan Brown, Erik Brannstrom, Alex Formenton, Josh Norris, Christian Wolanin, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Christian Jaros, Filip Chlapik, André Desmarais, Rudolfs Balcers, Filip Gustavsson, Marcus Hogberg, Joey Daccord, Vitaly Abramov, Guy Laliberté, Jonathan Davidsson and Nick Paul.
It’s hard to see the future when so much of the present has walked away but it’s there if you want to see it. It will be there when you’re ready.
The New Sens (hmm maybe that sounds a little too much like nuisance) begin life without, well without everyone, when they visit the Washington Capitals.
Ottawa’s line up for this one will truly be a sight to behold. It’s a good thing the Senators don’t have their first round pick because this is tanking on a scale we haven’t really seen before. There was a point yesterday where they didn’t even have enough players to ice a team. Like, we were in forfeit territory folks.
Here’s how Guy Boucher has them lined up at the morning skate.
Tkachuk-White-Duclair
Balcers-Tierney-Boedker
Smith-Pageau-Ryan
Gibbons-Lindberg-Pääjärvi
Chabot-DeMelo
Wolanin-Ceci
Borowiecki-Jaros
Harpur
Anders Nilsson, who am I pretty sure still works here, is expected to get the start for Ottawa. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM.
The game is available on TSN5, RDS2 and can be streamed all over the damn place because nobody wants to miss the Brian Gibbons show.
This. Is. THE. Table.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 22-35-5 (49 pts) | 35-21-7 (77 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.02 (12th) | 3.33 (T-7th) |
| Goals Against | 3.68 (30th) | 3.21 (23rd) |
| Power Play | 20.6% (15th) | 21.7% (T-11th) |
| Penalty Kill | 78.0% (24th) | 78.5% (23rd) |
| Shots For | 30.0 (23rd) | 30.0 (24th) |
| Shots Against | 36.4 (31st) | 32.6 (23rd) |
| Leading Scorers | Chabot- 47 pts Tierney- 40 pts Ryan- 35 pts |
Ovechkin- 72 pts Backstrom- 58 pts Carlson- 56 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Anders Nilsson 10-15-1 2.95 GAA, .908 sv% |
Braden Holtby 21-16-4 3.04 GAA, .908 sv% |
CONTEST ALERT!
-I know when I’m feeling down, nothing lifts my spirits quite like the possibility of some free stuff. And that’s what we have thanks to the good folks at Hyperline. To help with those rebuild blues, Hyperline has offered up a pair of tickets in Club Bell for Thursday night’s game against our partners in sadness, the Edmonton Oilers. The on-ice product might not be great but in the amazing Club Bell, you’ll barely even notice. All you have to do to enter is email me at senschirp@hotmail.com with three things- your name, your email address and your proposed “tagline” (ex. Ottawa Rising but better or funnier) for the Ottawa rebuild. Include those three things and you’re in the draw. One entry per-person. It’s that simple folks. We’ll be accepting entries up until game time tonight. Good luck!
