Ottawa Senators Set For An Afternoon Game Against The Boston Bruins
For their first game of 2015, the Ottawa Senators roll into Boston for an afternoon tilt with the Bruins. Can the Sens build up some momentum after a convincing 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres?
Ottawa: 15-14-4-3
Boston: 19-14-1-3
1:00 PM EST
TD Garden
Boston, Massachusetts
TV: TSN 5, RDS; Radio: TSN 1200
MATCHUP HISTORY
Traditionally, the Sens have struggled against the Bruins. Their first meeting was a 4-2 loss in Boston back on November 1st with Bruins’ defenceman Matt Fraser leading the way against Ottawa with a pair of second period goals. However, the Sens would score a 3-2 shootout win over the Bruins on December 13th, also an afternoon game, in Boston for Dave Cameron’s first win as a head coach in the NHL. Mika Zibanejad leads Ottawa against Boston in scoring with a pair of goals, and Mark Stone has a goal and an assist in the previous two games. Carl Soderberg is the Bruins’ top scorer against Ottawa so far this year with three points, all assists.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Patrice Bergeron, BOS: Bergeron is always a dangerous player on both sides of the puck, and he is tied for the Bruins’ scoring lead with 27 points in through 37 games this season. In 53 career games against the Senators, Bergeron has 17 goals and 43 points along with an impressive .563 face off percentage. He’s a prime reason Ottawa has struggled against the Bruins for years, and the likes of Zibanejad and Kyle Turris will have their work cut out for them going head to head with the Bruins star.
Bobby Ryan, OTT: Coming off a hat trick against the Sabres, Ryan is flying high. He sits tied with Erik Karlsson for the team lead in points at 25, third in goals with 10, and has six points in his last five games. He also seems to have found some good chemistry with Mike Hoffman and, most recently, Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Ottawa will need Ryan to stay hot if they hope to pick up two points today and close in on the Bruins in the standings. Boston sits directly ahead of Ottawa in the division with 42 points, good for sixth place, to the Senators’ 37 and 7th place position.
3 STORYLINES TO THE GAME:
1. BUILDING MOMENTUM: The Senators deserve full marks for their win over the Sabres. They drove the play for the majority of the night and managed to handily outshoot their opponent 35-21. Buffalo has been an atrocious possession team all season long, so they’re a team the Sens should be able to handle. However, now Ottawa needs to string together some wins to really get back in the playoff picture. They’re a decent 5-3-2 over the last 10 games, but they’ve also got the Bruins and Panthers ahead of them chasing the two wild card spots, which are currently being held down by the Maple Leafs and Rangers respectively. Additionally, the Blue Jackets and Flyers are both only two points back of Ottawa. Things are tight, and the Sens can’t afford any major slip ups.
2. ROAD WARRIORS: Tying into the need to string together some wins, the Ottawa Senators also need to start playing better on the road. Their 7-10-3 record simply isn’t good enough if they hope to be playing in late April, as no Eastern Conference team currently in a playoff position has as many regulation losses on the road as the Sens. However, there is some hope a trip to Beantown can help with this because…
3. WILL (RECENT) HISTORY REPEAT?: While the Sens tend to struggle against the Bruins, as well as with afternoon games in general for the last year and a bit, Dave Cameron did get his first NHL coaching win in Boston not too long ago and in an afternoon game. It was a plucky effort by Ottawa as they managed to match the Bruins in shots at 31, and scored in the third period to tie the game before needing a shootout to get the victory. Can the Sens use that win for some extra motivation and confidence going into the game today? We’ll soon find out.
PROJECTED LINEUPS:
Still to come.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy the game!