We. Are. Back.
Three simple words that perfectly capture what has been a summer for the ages in the Nation’s Capital. The Ottawa Senators have been making big moves on multiple fronts this off-season and today we get our first look at the finished product. Sort of.
Sure it’s preseason and yea it’s pointless and of course it’s generally boring as heck but the Sens are back damn it! And while I don’t have the conversion rate in front of me, I’m pretty sure that two Saturday preseason games against the Leafs is equal to one Wednesday regular season game against the Devils.
Close enough!
The Ottawa Senators open the preseason with a rare split squad game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The pucks will drop at 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
As you might expect in a preseason opener, the Senators are not exactly sending a full lineup to either game. But by the time the double header wraps up, we’ll have seen most of the 18 skaters and 2 goalies that will make up the Opening Night line up.
In the Game One, we get our first look at the best second line in the history of the franchise in Alex DeBrincat, Tim Stützle and Claude Giroux. While it may seem a tad premature to be throwing around grand declarations, it’s important to say it early because they may not be the second line for long. See because they’ll be the first line. By all accounts, they’ve been buzzing early in Camp so it will be nice to see them terrorize another team’s defence for a change.
Outside of that trio, all eyes will be on Jake Sanderson as he makes his preseason debut. It’s probably not entirely reasonable but so much of Ottawa’s early season success is going to come down to how quickly Sanderson can adjust to the NHL game. These preseason games are important for a handful of guys but especially for Sanderson as he gets an introduction to the pro level.
With very few spots truly up for grabs this year, these games are mostly about tuning things up ahead of the opener against the Sabres. That said, guys like Derick Brassard, Egor Sokolov and Dylan Gambrell will all be trying to improve their chances of locking down a roster spot.
Meanwhile in Game 2, we’ll see the rest of the NHL group as well as handful of guys eager to force their way into the conversation. Jacob Bernard-Docker and Lassi Thomson need to have stand out Camps to find their way onto the roster while Mark Kastelic is squarely in the mix for a bottom six spot with a solid Camp.
Look, I’ll level with you- these games are all about staying healthy. There isn’t a ton of legitimate competition playing out at this year’s Camp so really, it’s a tune up for the NHL guys and us looking on and just hoping nobody gets hurt.
We should have some line combinations later in the day, so we’ll add them in the post above when they become available. DJ Smith is set to meet with the media at 10:50 AM.
What we do know is start times are 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM, the games are both available on Sportsnet and the last, and perhaps most important, the Leafs suck.
Here’s a closer look at today’s match up via a rare preseason edition of the HEAD2HEAD table.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | Undefeated | Winless |
| Goals For | Soon | Zero |
| Goals Against | Zero | Soon |
| Power Play | Unstoppable | Goalless |
| Penalty Kill | Flawless | Troubled |
| Shots For | Not Yet | Zero |
| Shots Against | Zero | Not Yet |
| Leading Scorers | Tkachuk DeBrincat Stützle Norris Batherson Giroux Chabot |
Who Cares |
| Starting Goalie | Not Matt Murray | Maybe Matt Murray |
And if you’re looking for a way to pass the time until game…
