The Ottawa Senators have won a grand total of 20 games this season but you would have to think Saturday’s win against the Coyotes was the most satisfying.
It’s always nice to win on home ice but to win in such convincing fashion (and with seven different goal scorers), you know the team is feeling pretty good heading into this week. They were back on the ice for practice this morning ahead of tomorrow night’s game in New Jersey. After a quick stop in Jersey, they then return home for games against the Washington Capitals and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Seems like a good time to go on that 10 game winning streak we’ve all been waiting for.
Ottawa currently trails the Washington Capitals by 11 points for the final Wild Card spot in the East. As of this morning, the Senators have a 12.5% chance at making the playoffs, which seems kind of high. They’d need to go like 22-9-3 over the final 34 games to have a shot. On the other hand, things are pretty bunched up at the bottom of the standings. The Senators currently sit 23rd overall but Toronto, Columbus and New Jersey are all close behind. I’m expecting a few members of the pro-Tank crowd to become Devils’ fans tomorrow night.
A couple line up notes following this morning’s practice- Craig Anderson skated on his own briefly but will not make the trip to New Jersey. He’s having trouble gripping the stick, apparently. Alex Chiasson is also nursing an injury and will not play tomorrow night.
Cameron also indicated that the plan is to hold Chris Phillips out of the lineup against New Jersey so that he can break the record for games played on home ice on Thursday night.
He won’t say it publicly, but the last couple months have been pretty tough on Phillips. Breaking the games played record is a pretty special accomplishment for Phillips but it’s been tough not knowing exactly when it’s going to happen. It will be nice for him to do it on home ice in front of friends and family.
-Speaking of Chris Phillips, you can expect to hear his name in the rumour mill leading up to the March deadline. Murray has said it on a couple of occasions but if either he or Chris Neil have an interest in taking a run at a Stanley Cup this year, the team would be happy to accommodate them. I’m just not so sure that’s something that Phillips is interested in at this point, especially with another year left on his deal. That extra year probably scares off some teams too.
-Mentioned this on Twitter over the weekend and Steve Simmons had a bit about it in his column but when the time comes that Bryan Murray is ready to step aside as GM of the team, expect to hear Ray Shero’s name as a possible replacement. Shero has some links to the Senators organization and is considered one of the top candidates for any vacant GM position. No decisions have been made on this front yet though. Pierre Dorion is another obvious candidate.
