Ottawa Senators Vs. New Jersey Devils; Gameday Preview

The Ottawa Senators are coming off of a disappointing shootout loss at the hands of the lowly Buffalo Sabres, but they have a chance to get back in the win column tonight against the New Jersey Devils who sit two points back of Ottawa.

(12-12-6, 30 points) 7th in Atlantic Division

VS

(11-15-6, 28 points) 6th in Metropolitan Division

7:00 PM

Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey

TV: TVA Sports, SN

MATCH UP HISTORY

This is the second game between the Senators and Devils this season, with the Devils winning in 3-2 overtime in Ottawa back in October thanks to Jaromir Jagr. Last year Ottawa took the season series 2-1.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

• Jean Gabriel Pageau, OTT- Pageau appears to be in the lineup for the first time this season, and he’s going to have to impress. With Chris Neil, Zack Smith, and Colin Greening out of the lineup, he could secure a future spot by playing well in the next few weeks. Expect to see him flying around the ice.
• Scott Gomez, NJD- The 34 year old has actually played well so far for the veteran Devils, recording two goals and four assists in his last five games. Ottawa could be seeing a lot of him tonight on the first line.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Matchups- Somehow even without Mike Cammalleri, Daniuis Zubrus, and Ryane Clowe in the lineup, the Devils still have pretty good depth. They don’t have any star forwards, but all four lines have the potential to score. It’ll be interesting to see how the lines are matched, and if young players like Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Curtis Lazar are up for it.

2. More shots- It’s expected that Cory Schneider will be in net tonight for the Devils, which is not good news for Ottawa. Schneider is an all-star goalie, and he has always done well against the Senators. They will need to get more shots than usual, particularly on net. It seems like the team is missing the net way more often than usual, and with a bit more accuracy a few more pucks will find their way in.

3. Isolate the defence– Ottawa has lots of speed throughout its lineup, and the Devils defence isn’t the greatest in the league. Their pairings include Andy Greene, Damon Severson, Peter Harrold, Marek Zidlicky, Eric Gelinas, and Jon Merrill. There is potential from that group, but it’s not overly impressive. If Ottawa can isolate the defence and make them vulnerable by using their speed, then they should be able to get more quality chances on Schneider.