Hockey is such a strange sport. Hockey. Is that even how you spell it?
Anyway, hockey can be weird sometimes. If way back in September, somebody showed you the current Sens lineup you would be horrified. With Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Shane Pinto and Colin White all missing, you would assume that the Ottawa Senators were doomed.
It’s quite the opposite though. The Senators are playing some of their best hockey in years and even with significant pieces missing. DJ Smith has everyone pulling in the same direction and with the system they have in place, it feels like they have a chance to win every night. Add in a dash of confidence and you almost expect it.
Sorry Penguins. Wrong place, wrong time.
The Ottawa Senators host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.
DJ Smith will have his team on the ice for a morning twirl at 10:30 AM although Alex Formenton will probably arrive like an hour before that. For now, we’ll assume they’ll go with the same unbeatable combinations they’ve rolled out the last couple games.
Tkachuk-Stützle-Gaudette
Formenton-Paul- Brown
Tierney-Kastalic-Ennis
Sanford-Gambrell-Watson
Chabot-Zaitsev
Holden-Zub
Brannstrom-Brown
Would assume Matt Murray gets the nod against his former team.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 PM down at the CTC so make sure you wrap-up that book club meeting well in advance. The game is available on TSN5, RDS and on the radio at TSN1200. If illegal internet streams are your thing, well then I am reporting you to the authorities.
Wondering how these two teams match-up but unlike Aaron Rodgers, you just don’t have the time to do your own research? Let the HEAD2HEAD table do the work for you.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 28-11-8 (64 pts) | 16-22-4 (36 pts) |
| Goals For | 3.32 (9th) | 2.79 (22nd) |
| Goals Against | 2.57 (T-3rd) | 3.31 (24th) |
| Power Play | 22.1% (11th) | 18.5% (22nd) |
| Penalty Kill | 87.0% (2nd) | 80.6% (14th) |
| Shots For | 34.4 (6th) | 30.3 (19th) |
| Shots Against | 30.4 (9th) | 33.6 (27th) |
| Leading Scorers | Guentzel- 48 pts Crosby- 41 pts Letang- 41 pts Rust- 34 pts Rodrigues- 33 pts Rodrigues- |
Batherson- 34 pts Tkachuk- 32 pts Norris- 26 pts Chabot- 24 Stützle- 23 pts |
| Starting Goalie | Tristan Jarry 24-8-6 2.21 GAA, .925 sv% |
Matt Murray 8-8-1 3.02 GAA, .911 sv% |
