In Round One, Brady got the upper-hand on his brother Matthew.
Actually, it was an unusually quiet night for both of them. Almost like they were on their best behaviour because they knew their Mom would be watching. I mean, Brady still had six shots and nine hits but he definitely broke fewer noses than the game before.
We’ll see what the brothers have in store in Round Two.
The Ottawa Senators host the Calgary Flames this afternoon at the Canadian Tire Centre.
While the Senators still sit at the bottom of the North Division, they’ve started to close the gap. With three straight wins, Ottawa is now just three points back of the Vancouver Canucks and with a couple games in hand. Meanwhile, they trail the 5th place Flames by just five points.
It was just three weeks ago, everyone was excited for their turn to play the Senators.
Oh how the HEAD2HEAD tables have turned.
Still no injury update on Derek Stepan but it certainly doesn’t sound good. The Head Coach has only offered up “week to week” to this point while adding that it “doesn’t look promising”. Earlier this week, Shawn Simpson speculated that it may be a situation where surgery is ultimately required which would obviously be season-ending for Stepan.
The Senators will let Artem Anisimov fill that spot in the short-term but with Logan Brown now skating with the taxi squad, it’s only a matter of time before he gets a look.
Speaking of the taxi squad, the Senators made a couple moves yesterday. Kevin Mandolese was sent to Belleville while Filip Gustavsson joined the taxi squad. Erik Brannstrom was assigned to the taxi squad too in one of those money-saving transactions. About $6,000 a day, apparently. It’s something a lot of teams are doing this year as it’s an easy way to save a bit of money. Brannstrom was recalled this morning.
And as expected, Filip Chlapik cleared waivers and the two sides agreed on a mutual contract termination.
As expected, the move drew the ire of some Sens fans, declaring it another mismanaged asset. In reality, this is mostly a case of a player looking for a change of scenery and likely a return to his native Czech Republic. The AHL lifestyle in a COVID context has to be especially draining for young players so if you don’t necessarily see a clear path to the NHL in the short-term, you can understand why a change might be appealing.
No game day skate today but according to DJ Smith’s media availability, no changes expected. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it seems like the right approach here.
Tkachuk-Norris-C. Brown
Stützle-Anisimov-Batherson
Paul-White-Dadonov
Peca-Tierney-Watson
Chabot-Zaitsev
Reilly-Zub
Brannstrom-Gudbranson
Matt Murray is expected to get the start in goal.
Puck drop is scheduled for 1:08 PM and I shouldn’t have to tell you what that means. The game is available on TSN5, Sportsnet West, RDS, TSN1200 and can also be viewed via a vast network of interconnected computers that allow us to share information across cables and space lasers, as I understand it.
Table time.
| HEAD2HEAD |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 9-10-2 (20 pts) | 7-14-1 (15 pts) |
| Goals For | 2.43 (28th) | 2.59 (25th) |
| Goals Against | 2.95 (T-19th) | 3.86 (31st) |
| Power Play | 21.1% (15th) | 13.0% (27th) |
| Penalty Kill | 80.6% (T-12th) | 75.4% (24th) |
| Shots For | 29.0 (24th) | 32.6 (3rd) |
| Shots Against | 30.7 (20th) | 31.3 (22nd) |
| Leading Scorers | Gaudreau- 18 pts Lindholm- 18 pts Tkachuk- 14 pts Monahan- 14 pts Andersson- 12 pts |
Tkachuk- 15 pts Batherson- 13 pts Brown- 12 pts Norris- 12 pts Chabot- 12 pts |
| Starting Goalie | TBD | Matt Murray 5-9-1 3.48 GAA, .888 sv% |
| Tkachuks | 1 | 1 |
***
Oh and for those that aren’t on Twitter, there is another round of “Sens Money on the Board” planned for this afternoon’s game. If you haven’t played along before, the idea is you make a pledge based on something that might happen in today’s game. And then if it happens, you make the corresponding donation.
Today’s fundraiser is to honour Brian Fraser and funds will go directly to Canadian Blood Services.
Put me down for $50 if the opening faceoff is won by a Canadian team. And then $2 per shot on goal.
Here’s how you can join in!
