For the record, I also wasn’t invited to the Saturday morning press conference. Although that probably has more to do with the accidental tap dance I did on the logo that one time.
Which I mean, fair enough.
Okay, with that out of the way, let’s talk about those red-hot Ottawa Senators, shall we?
A quick glance at the NHL standings might lead you to believe the Sens are in fact, one of the worst teams in the league, but the last couple games tells a different story.
On the heels of a gritty win over the Carolina Hurricanes and a damn impressive victory over the Colorado Avalanche, the Senators suddenly look like a team on the rise. Slightly premature perhaps but there is a lot to like about the way this team is playing right now. And most importantly, about the players that are leading the way.
When Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson and Tim Stützle are all buzzing, this team is a handful.
They’ll look to keep it rolling against Jay Pandolfo, John Madden and whoever else plays for the New Jersey Devils.
DJ Smith has his team on the ice for a game day skate at the Prudential Center in scenic Newark, New Jersey and it looks like he’ll roll out a similar lineup as the other night against the Avalanche although with one change as Dillon Heatherington is being held out of the lineup after being in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
That means Victor Mete draws back in.
Here’s how they’re expected to arrange themselves for this evening’s festivities.
Tkachuk-Norris-Batherson
Paul-Stützle-Brown
Formenton-Tierney-Ennis
Sanford-Gambrell-Watson
Chabot-Zaitsev
Holden-Zub
Mete-Thomson
Anton Forsberg gets another start in goal for the Senators.
The puck shall drop at precisely 480 seconds after 7:00 PM. The game is available on TSN5, RDS2 and on the dial at TSN1200. If streaming is your thing, then you are basically a thieving pirate without soul. Just kidding- links should be posted in the comment section closer to game time.
Wondering how these two teams match-up but not sure where to turn? Let the HEAD2HEAD table be your guide.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 6-15-1 (13 pts) | 9-9-4 (22 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.59 (26th) | 2.91 (T-16th) |
| Goals Against | 3.91 (32nd) | 3.32 (26th) |
| Power Play | 17.6% (T-20th) | 13.1% (31st) |
| Penalty Kill | 72.9% (28th) | 80.3% (22nd) |
| Shots For | 28.7 (27th) | 32.4 (14th) |
| Shots Against | 34.9 (32nd) | 32.1 (21st) |
| Leading Scorers | Batherson- 18 pts Norris- 17 pts Tkachuk- 16 pts Brown- 12 pts Stützle- 11 pts |
Bratt- 19 pts Johnsson- 18 pts Hamilton- 15 pts Hischier- 14 pts Mercer- 14 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Anton Forsberg 3-4-0 4.13 GAA, .893 sv% |
TBD |
