Ottawa Senators Host The Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are in town tonight to face the Ottawa Senators. Tonight’s game will be featured on Rogers Sportsnet as a part of their big Wednesday night match up. Ottawa comes into this game featuring a depleted squad. Injuries to Clarke MacArthur and Robin Lehner just to name a few. Montreal on the other hand remain healthy, winners of seven out of their last ten games and remain as the top team in the East.
(37-15-4,78 Pts) 1st in the Atlantic Division
VS
(22-23-10-) 6th in the Atlantic Divison
7:00pm
Canadian Tire Center, Kanata, Ontario
TV/Radio: Sportsnet – TSN 1200
Match Up History
The last time Montreal and Ottawa faced each other was back only 34 days ago on January 15th. Ottawa came out with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Though the score line suggests Ottawa blew them out of the water, Montreal were playing the second game of a back to back schedule and did not play with a lot of energy. Ottawa tonight will face a well rested and healthy Montreal Canadiens team that will pose some big challenges.
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Players to Watch
Andrew “The Hamburglar” Hammond – Goalie
Andrew Hammond is set to make his NHL debut tonight at the Canadian Tire Center. His first ever NHL game will be not be a result of amazing play in the AHL but because of the injuries to Robin Lehner and long time injured Craig Anderson. Andrew Hammond’s play for the Binghamton Senators hasn’t been pretty, with a 7-13-2 record along with a .898 save percentage, don’t expect the Hamburglar to play lights out. Especially against a hot Montreal Canadiens team.
Dustin Tokarski – Goalie
At the other end of the ice we have Dustin Tokarski in net for the Montreal Canadiens. Dustin has settled in just a bit at the NHL level. His breakout performance during Montreal’s playoff run has warranted him some looks this year, even with Carey Price playing at MVP level hockey. Dustin Tokarski posts a 5-4-2 record with a .916 save percentage.
Three Keys To The Game
1. Butterflies: Andrew Hammond is set to play in his first NHL game as a starter and a lot will be running through his mind prior to puck drop. Andrew Hammond needs to calm down the butterflies in his stomach in order for Ottawa to even have a chance at winning tonight. Montreal isn’t a team to fool around with, one bad goal and things could get ugly. We’ve seen it time and time again, the frustrations of goal tending have hit Ottawa hard, the same thing can’t happen tonight.
2. Keep Your Cool: Tonight is a rivalry game and things could get a little out of hand. Injuries and bad play have plagued the Ottawa Senators hard over the past week. The team and the locker room must be feeling frustrated right now and any small retaliation from the Montreal Canadiens could set off some emotion. Ottawa needs to keep their emotions in check tonight against Montreal, this is a rivalry after all.
3. Special Teams: Ottawa has picked it’s self up a little bit in terms of the special teams department. Aside from the Carolina game on Monday that saw Ottawa give up 3 goals with a man down and scoring 0 from the power play, the Ottawa Senators have managed to wake up their power play. Over the past four games the Senators have scored 4 goals in 11 power play opportunities. The Ottawa Senators need to keep this going in order for them to stay in the game. Penalties will be awarded tonight and Ottawa has to capitalize on them. It’s a must.