With Friday night's results around the Eastern Conference, the heat has officially been turned up on the Ottawa Senators.
An absolutely disastrous start for Craig Anderson and the Sens led to four goals in the first ten minutes of the hockey game and put Ottawa in a hole they could not dig out of. The end result was a third straight loss for the Sens, this time to the tune of 5-1.
To add to the Sens misery, Washington picked up a single point and the Sabres scored a huge win over the Rangers to close the gap on the 7th place Senators. Both Washington and Buffalo now sit just two points back of Ottawa in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
This recent slump has the Sens in real danger of falling right out of the top eight. Here is how the standings look heading into tonight's action.
Panthers 86 (7)- NYI, @Mtl, @Min, @Clb, @Det, WPG, @Wsh
Devils 90 (7)- @Pit, CHI, TBL, @Car, NYI, @Det, OTT
Senators 84 (7)- PIT, @Wpg, @Phi, @Nyi, CAR, BOS, @Nj
Capitals 82 (7)- MIN, BUF, @Bos, MTL, @Tbl, FLA, @Nyr
Sabres 82 (7)- MIN, @Wsh, PIT, @Tor, TOR, @Phi, @Bos
The good news is the Sens have a chance to get right back on the horse with another game tonight on home ice. The bad news is the opposition is the red hot Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens are 9-0-1 in their last ten and look like the team to beat heading into the playoffs in less than a month from now.
Last night was ugly but the Sens have to find a way to bounce back tonight. After Anderson's shaky return, Paul MacLean will go with Ben Bishop against Pittsburgh. Gilroy and Konopka come out, Carkner and Daugavins will play.
Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:00 PM tonight with the game available on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. CBC will also have a stream available on their website.
GO SENS GO!
