The Senators were on the ice for practice this morning at the Canadian Tire Centre and after a full day off on Sunday, Head Coach Paul MacLean was probably eager to get back to work and sort out some of the issues this team had in Toronto on Saturday night.
Fatigue is never a good excuse to lose a hockey game but it certainly seemed like a factor on Saturday night. With a 4-2 lead, the Sens appeared to let off the gas a little bit and could never get it going again once the Leafs started to press.
Once it started to snowball in the third, Toronto seemed to have all the momentum on their side. The difference in scoring chances over the last 20 minutes is a pretty good indication that the Sens just didn’t have gas left in the tank in the tail end of the season opening back to back.
One notable absence from this morning’s practice was Captain Jason Spezza. His nagging health issues early in this season are really not the best news. Missing a practice is no big deal but he needs to be at 100% for these early season games. Hard to believe he’s at that level right now but hopefully an extra day off here and there will help. Here is how MacLean lined his players up at practice.
Michalek-Da Costa-Ryan
MacArthur-Turris-Conacher
Greening-Smith-Neil
Kassian-Pageau-Condra
Tough stretch of games coming up for the Senators as they’ll play four straight against Western Conference opponents. First up is a powerful Los Angeles Kings team on Wednesday night. The trip out West also means some wonky start times including 10:30 PM, 10:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM.
Get some rest, Sens fans. Some late nights ahead.
- -It’s hard to predict exactly when, but you have to think there’s at least a chance we could see a trade of some sort from the Senators in the not too distant future. The team can talk about wanting to send a message to Mika Zibanejad but the reality is he should be up here playing with the big team. It’s the best situation for Mika and for the Senators as well. How they make room for him will be interesting. Not sure there’s much of a market for Stephane Da Costa right now and limited fourth line minutes isn’t exactly the best showcase. Perhaps those Zack Smith rumours from a couple months back reappear? Something to keep an eye on anyway.
- -Speaking of Zibanejad, it also makes sense that the Senators would carry an extra body on this upcoming West coast swing. We’ll see if the Sens make any roster moves before heading to Los Angeles.
