8th East (9-9-1) VS. 7th West (9-5-3)
Your Ottawa Senators end their four-game road trip tonight against the St. Louis Blues. Having come off back-to-back blow out loses, the Senators need to win this game to end their road trip going .500 and earning four out of a possible eight points. With the standings so tight, Ottawa needs to create some breathing room between them and the Northeast basement.
St. Louis started the year off well, going 9 – 3 with a seven game win streak that propelled them to the top of the Western Conference standings. But in their last five games, the Blues have gone win-less and have allowed 28 goals. This is compared to their first 12 games where they let a total of 17 goals against. A reason for this goal differential is that Jaroslav Halak has come back down to earth and is showing signs of being human.
However, the Blues are still one of two teams in the league that are undefeated in regulation time on home ice having gone 6-0-1. Ottawa cannot take the Blues lightly and will need to be sharp to beat St. Louis. With young gun T.J. Oshie going down with a ankle injury, the Blues play a strong team game and depend on winning low scoring games.
Ottawa will need to limit the Blues chances and support their goalies by clearing the front of the net. The Blues do not have a strong penalty kill, so Ottawa will need to capitalize on their chances with the man advantage. And Ottawa will also need a bounce back game from their tenders if they hope to leave St. Louis with any points.
This is game #2 on the Kovalev watch as he is only one point away from notching 1,000 career NHL points. Is tonight the night history will be made? Check back here at SenShot for a game report after the game. Enjoy the game and GO SENS GO!!!!!
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