Finally. Game Two.
Additional rest is a good thing this time of year. It gave the injured players some more time to heal their various bumps and bruises and it allowed the Coaching staff an opportunity to run a rare full team practice.
But as fans, that extra day off between games gave us way too much time to relive and rehash a painful Game One loss. While the Senators did a lot right during their series opener, moral victories don’t mean much this time of year.
The situation is pretty simple now- the Ottawa Senators have to find a way to even the series this afternoon at the Canadian Tire Centre.
And it’s not like they have to change much from Wednesday night. Just take what they did for the first two periods of the game and do it for a full sixty minutes. No letting up. Foot on the gas pedal the whole way and they should be fine.
Erik Karlsson’s health remains a lingering story-line for the Senators. While he played in Game 1, you could tell he was in some discomfort and didn’t have his usual explosive stride. Speaking to the media yesterday, Karlsson suggested he’s getting better though. The fact that he was a full participant in yesterday’s practice has to be a good sign too.
And by the sounds of things, there’s a chance he could have his usual defence partner back this afternoon too.
Marc Methot is again being called a game time decision but he skated yesterday and was in his usual spot beside the Captain. We’ll find out later today if he’s in for sure.
Boucher’s practice line combinations hinted at two other changes up front but we’ll have to wait to confirm if he’ll stick with those changes in Game 2. Chris Kelly was back in his usual spot on the fourth line and Ryan Dzingel was taking regular rushes on a line with Kyle Turris. Viktor Stalberg and Tommy Wingels appeared to be the odd guys out.
No game day skate so we’ll have to wait until Boucher’s 12 PM meeting with the media to confirm these changes. A best guess at the line up based on yesterday’s practice.
Hoffman-Pageau-Stone
MacArthur-Brassard-Ryan
Dzingel-Turris-Burrows
Smith-Kelly-Pyatt
Methot-Karlsson
Phaneuf-Ceci
Borowiecki-Wideman
Craig Anderson gets the start in the Ottawa goal. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 3:00 PM.
