Ottawa Senators 2013 Schedule Notes

The Ottawa Senators’ 2013 schedule was released Saturday night, and as was previously speculated, they will open up against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, January 19th for an afternoon game.  They return home to face the Florida Panthers the following Monday before making the Florida road trip through the Panthers and Lightning.

April 16, 2012; Ottawa, ON, Canada; Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) during the second period in game three of the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals at ScotiaBank Place. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Here are some other interesting notes:

• The Senators play back to back 8 times.  None of the games in those back to back contests are against the Maple Leafs. Only one of those occurrences sees them playing home games on consecutive nights, meaning the other 7 times they have to travel between games.
• Nine of the first 13 games are against non-playoff teams from last year, meaning the Sens have a great opportunity to get off to a good start which they need in order to secure a playoff spot.   However, if they stumble out of the gate as they did last season, they could very quickly dig themselves a hole that they cannot escape.
• Be ready for some different start times as 10 games have puck drops of 5:00pm or earlier.
• Ottawa has 4 four game home stands and one 5 game homestand, making up 21 of the 24 home games.
• They have 2 extended road trips, one five games long and a seven game roadie covering the first half of April while the World Women’s Championships take over Scotiabank Place.

Overall, the Senators schedule seems to line up pretty favorable.   If they can win the games they are supposed to win, they should get off to a great start and build some early momentum towards making the playoffs again.

Less than 1 week to puck drop!