The Ottawa Senators host the Washington Capitals February 2nd, 2015. The Senators sit 12 points out of the 8th and final playoff spot. The Capitals currently sit 7th in the Eastern Conference, 13 points ahead of the Senators. This is a must win game if the Senators have any hopes of staying in the playoff race. The clock is ticking and it seems as if playoff hopes grow slimmer each day. This will mark Chris Phillips 1,119th game as a Senators which makes him the Senators all time leader in games played.
(26-15-10, 62 pts) 4th in Metropolitan Division
VS
(20-20-9, 49 pts) 6th in Atlantic Division
7:30 PM
Canadian Tire Centre, Kanata, Ontario
TV/RADIO: RDS,TSN5
MATCH-UP HISTORY
This is the second time the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals face off. The first meeting between the teams was on December 22nd, Washington won the contest 2-1. The previous match up saw a remarkable goaltending performance by Braden Holtby. The netminder saved 38 of 39 shots fired on him by the Senators.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Erik Karlsson OTT – Karlsson has been on fire his past five games. He has an impressive 4 goals and 1 assists. Karlsson has been firing pucks on net. He has 21 shots in his last five games. The Senators captain has looked very good lately.
Alex Ovechkin, WAS – Ovechkin has been playing like the Ovechkin of old lately. He has 6 goals and 2 assits in his last six games. Ovechkin is always a threat to score. The forward has put 36 shots and delivered 15 hits in his last six games.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
- Record Setting – Phillips will surpass Daniel Alfredsson as the Senators all time leader in games played. Phillips has been surrounded by trade talks and rumour. I believe he will stay in Ottawa. Hopefully the Senators can pick up a win in the Big Rig’s 1,119 career game.
- Possession– Since Dave Cameron has taken over the Senators have improved in possession numbers. Since December 8th the Senators rank 11th in 5v5 Corsi% with 52%, while the Capitals rank 15th at 51.4%. Both teams are fairly similar in possession numbers. Last time the two teams met the Senators outshot the Capitals 39-23. The Senators will need to generate plenty of offense to beat the Capitals.
- Goaltending- The slated goaltending match up is Holtby against Robin Lehner. Holtby has an impressive .923 save percentage on the year while Lehner has a pedestrian .903. Lehner will have to deliver one of his big performances if the Senators hope to win. His play has been inconsistent this year. He will have to deliver a sold outing if the Senators hope to win.