The Ottawa Senators have run into some adversity early in the 2023/2024 season but the truth is, things aren’t nearly as bad as they seem.
Yes, they lost half of the season opening blueline to injury and sure their depth down the middle has been decimated by a bizarre mix of contract holdouts, gambling-related suspensions and fluke injuries and yea, some fans want the Head Coach to pay the price for all of this, making the discourse around the team often unbearable and sure, they come into tonight sitting last place in the Eastern Conference but uh, hmm I can’t remember where I was going with that.
The Senators host the Calgary Flames on Saturday night in Ottawa.
If you’ve spent any time on SensChirp.ca in the last decade or so, you’ll know that it’s not a term I use lightly. The magnitude of the moment has to hit a certain level and the significance of the game must be up the roof. And that’s where we find ourselves this evening. The Senators have a full four days off after this one as they get set to head to Sweden and the thought of watching this place stew on another loss for 96 hours is simply too much to uh bear.
And that is why tonight, against a Calgary Flames team that is reeling and is on a back-to-back is officially…
Here’s how the Senators will line up for this one…
Tkachuk-Norris-Tarasenko
Joseph-Stutzle-Giroux
Kubalik-Jarventie-Batherson
Highmore-Chartier-Kelly
Sanderson-Zub
Chychrun-Bernard-Docker
Brannstrom-Hamonic
Joonas Korpisalo is the likely starter.
Puck drop is scheduled for just a shade after 7:00 PM tonight at the Canadian Tire Centre in scenic Kanata, Ontario. The game is available on Sportsnet One or on the radio at TSN1200. If illegal streams are more your speed, friendly internet pirates will be serving up links a little closer to game time.
If you want to see your Senators live and in person one more time before they bolt for Sweden, a friendly ticket sales rep down at Sens HQ has offered up this discount code where you can lock up some extremely affordable tickets.
And speaking of friendly, the good folks down at The Senate Tavern continue to provide the best option to get to the game, including one that leaves from the Clarence Street location and makes a stop at Evergreen Craft Ales along the way! The best part is they let me drive the damn thing!
Wondering how these two teams match up but like most Calgary residents, can’t be bothered to give a hoot about the Flames? Let the HEAD2HEAD table do the heavy lifting for you.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 4-7-2 (10 pts) | 5-7-0 (10 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.77 (24th) | 3.83 (3rd) |
| Goals Against | 3.54 (25th) | 3.58 (27th) |
| Power Play | 15.9% (23rd) | 22.0% (12th) |
| Penalty Kill | 87.8% (4th) | 73.2% (25th) |
| Shots For | 32.8 (9th) | 32.6 (10th) |
| Shots Against | 28.2 (8th) | 30.1 (13th) |
| Leading Scorers | Kadri-8 pts Lindholm-8 pts Mangiapane-8 pts Huberdeau-7 pts Backlund-6 pts |
Stutzle-15 pts Giroux-14 pts Chychrun-11 pts Joseph-11 pts Tarasenko-11 pts |
| Starting Goalies | Dustin Wolf 0-0-0 -.– GAA, .— sv% |
Joonas Korpisalo 3-4-0 3.38 GAA, .902 sv% |
***
Learn more about The Royal Canadian Legion’s Poppy Fund here.
