The Ottawa Senators did everything right on Sunday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Well everything but win the game.
A solid 57 minute effort wasn’t quite enough against one of the league’s top teams and as a result, the Sens now find themselves on the ropes. Playoff hopes are dwindling and the 2015-2016 season is slipping through their fingers. Even those of us patiently waiting for Miracle Run 2.0 are starting to see the reality of what this team is facing. It’s not quite a win-out situation yet but it’s pretty damn close.
Up next- a short two game road trip that will take them through Carolina and Florida. Must win games? Well ya.
The Carolina Hurricanes are one of the teams the Senators would have to pass if they’re going to chase down a Wild Card spot down the stretch. The two teams are tied in the standings with 69 points a piece, although Ottawa has played one more game.
The Canes looked like they might push for a playoff spot in the last couple months of the season but they’ve stumbled a bit lately, going 4-5-1 in their last ten games. Trading their Captain at the trade deadline sent a pretty clear message to the rest of the team that playoffs would be nice but this is still a team with an eye toward the future. Their last game was a 4-3 overtime loss in Tampa Bay on Saturday night.
Dave Cameron has his team on the ice in Carolina and it looks like he’ll run with the same lineup as the other night against the Stars. And that means Mike Hoffman against starts on the team’s fourth line. Patrick Wiercioch is apparently a little bit banged up and will miss another game on the blueline based on how things look at the morning skate. Here’s how the Senators are expected to line up for this one.
Smith-Pageau-Stone
Dzingel-Gomez-Ryan
Paul-Zibanejad-Chiasson
Hoffman-Lazar-Neil
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Kostka-Wideman
Andrew Hammond gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM.
-Mentioned this on Twitter yesterday but today is your last chance to head down to Landsdowne Park to check out Canada’s Goal Light, which has stopped here in Ottawa as part of its cross-country tour. Basically it’s just like those cool Budweiser Red Lights except 20 feet tall! I’ve heard it’s actually synced up to Sens and 67’s goals so if you head down there at the right time, you may have a chance to see the thing in action. And if you can’t make it down, you can still have your name engraved on the side over on the Canada’s Goal Light website. Head over and check it out!
