Oh, hey Mark. Strange running into you here. You’re looking well.
Ten points already? Wow. That’s great, Mark. I’m REALLY happy for you. So have you spent that $9 million dollar signing bonus yet? $76 million in total was it? You must be so much happier with all that money, Mark.
It’s too bad about how that playoff series went last year though. Some experts say that might have been your best chance at a Cup and that your window is rapidly closing but I wouldn’t listen to them. I’m sure you’ll be just fine.
Us? Oh we’re good. Things are GREAT actually. Never been better. No problems at all. Ottawa Rising, remember? Artem Anisimov might play tonight but if he doesn’t someone named Jordan Szwarz is ready.
Yep. Fine. We’re fine.
The Ottawa Senators kick off a three game road trip with a game against what will likely be one of the top teams in the Western Conference, the Vegas Golden Knights.
On the heels of a disappointing first round exit, the Golden Knights are off to a decent start this year. They’ve registered some convincing wins over teams like the Sharks, Flames and Kings but then stumbled against the likes of Boston, Arizona and most recently Nashville.
At their best, they look like a team that can contend again in the West. And after Tuesday night’s loss on home ice, you know they’ll come into this one a motivated group.
Especially player number 61. Mark Stone will be playing the first game against his former team since the deal that sent him to the Golden Knights back in February.
It’s a trade that has obviously worked out great for Vegas, as Stone has continued to establish himself as one the game’s premier forwards. Meanwhile on Ottawa’s end, the real returns will come a little further down the line. Erik Brannstrom has made the jump to the NHL level and for the most part, has looked comfortable. Not dominant yet but you can see that all the tools are there. He’s going to be a crucial building block in the rebuilding process in Ottawa.
A lot has been said and written about Stone’s departure from Ottawa and that’s likely to continue today.
While both Stone and the Senators have talked about how hard they worked to get a deal done, it’s clear that there were factors at play here that became red lines in those negotiations. Whether it was the inability of Eugene Melnyk to fork over the type of signing bonus Stone had earned or whether it was more about Stone’s desire to play for a contending hockey team isn’t entirely clear. Maybe it was more about the broader dysfunction that had played out over the two seasons leading up to that moment.
We’ll probably never know the full story.
Fact is, eight months have passed since the trade but it still stings. Mark Stone should have been a Senator for life. Mark Stone should have been the Captain of the Ottawa Senators. And one day, Mark Stone’s number should have been hanging from the rafters at the CTC.
Instead, he plays for the Vegas Golden Knights. And it’s just all so very stupid.
Anyway, here’s how DJ Smith lined ’em up at practice yesterday.
Tkachuk-White-Duclair
Ennis-Tierney-Ryan
Namestnikov-Pageau-Brown
Paul-Szwarz-Sabourin/Boedker
Chabot-Zaitsev
Brannstrom-Hainsey
Borowiecki-DeMelo
Anders Nilsson gets the start for the Senators. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 PM but it will depend how long it takes them to wrap up their pre-game skit of whatever the hell that is.
Seriously, what’s the deal with that pregame performance? Where the hell did they get an idea like that anyway?
Oh. Right.
Hey, look. A HEAD2HEAD TABLE!
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 1-4-0 (2 pts) | 4-3-0 (8 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.40 (25th) | 3.71 (T-7th) |
| Goals Against | 3.80 (26th) | 2.71 (T-9th) |
| Power Play | 0.0% (T-30th) | 29.2% (7th) |
| Penalty Kill | 81.8% (15th) | 92.6% (2nd) |
| Shots For | 29.4 (23rd) | 29.2 (7th) |
| Shots Against | 33.0 (T-21st) | 33.3 (25th) |
| Leading Scorers | Namestnikov- 4 pts Pageau- 4 pts Tkachuk- 3 pts |
Stone- 10 pts Pacioretty- 8 pts Karlsson- 7 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Anders Nilsson 0-1-0 5.08 GAA, .861 sv% |
TBC |
