Ottawa Senators Visit Philadelphia Flyers: Preview

Claude Giroux and Marc Methot are questionable for the Flyers and Senators respectively as the two teams clash this evening.

16-15-7

Ottawa Senators

VS

14-18-7

Philadelphia Flyers

7:00 pm

Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

TV: RDSI, TSN5, Radio: Team 1200

MATCH-UP HISTORY

The Flyers and Senators have yet to play each other this season, but Ottawa may hold a slight advantage as Philly is one of the few teams in the East that are further down the standings than Ottawa themselves. Ottawa is also four points up and holds a game in hand.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jakub Voracek, Flyers – it’s perplexing that the league’s leading scorer can belong to a team that also has Claude Giroux, yet still be a team under .500. Regardless, Voracek is a constant threat and will need to be guarded closely if the Sens are going to keep themselves in this game.

Mike Hoffman, Ottawa – the power play has been abysmal, and Mike Hoffman is the team’s leading goal scorer despite the limited minutes he’s received.

These are facts, yet somehow Dave Cameron has yet to put the two together and put Hoffman on the power play and keep up the scoring that we’ve been loving all season long.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Powerful Powerplay – as previously stated, Ottawa’s power play has been nothing short of awful in recent games. The tide has to turn eventually, and hopefully that can come against a struggling Flyers squad.

2. The ‘D’ needs to be an ‘A’ – Philly has gotten where they are in the standings because of their potent offence, but also their porous defence and at times less than stellar goaltending. If the Senators are going to take advantage of the Flyers they’ll have to do it by keeping their offence at bay. Our defense needs to bring its ‘A’ game to stop Voracek, and hopefully the probably absence of Giroux will make this all the easier.

3. BFR – Bobby Ryan needs to keep bringing that clutch game we’ve seen from him this season. He’s come a long way since joining the Senators and is really starting to earn that 7 million dollar pay cheque.