The Ottawa Senators travel to the Wells Fargo for tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. With the Flyers essentially out of the playoff conversation, the Sens will look to secure two points.
Two points tonight would leave the Ottawa Senators just a point off the Montreal Canadiens, having both played the same amount of games. A nice reminder given that Montreal have taken six points from the Sens in recent games, giving the Sens a measly point.
Smith-Turris-Ryan
Burrows-Brassard-Stone
Hoffman-Pageau-Pyatt
Dzingel-Kelly-Wingels
That’s the team from Saturday, expect possibly a couple of changes to that lineup. I’d swap Smith with Hoffman and really look to bring this game to the Flyers. Brassard could potentially move into the first line. Their fans will be furious they couldn’t cement playoff contention, with all the opportunities they had to leapfrog the wavering Maple Leafs.
Flyer Form
Bear in mind that the Flyers are coming off the back of a resounding 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. This could worry a few of the Sens faithful. Winning three of their last five, with wins against the Hurricanes, Wild and Penguins. Form that would look impressive had Minnesota not fallen off the face of the earth.
Stat Attack
Philly’s goals for and against per game are pretty woeful. Both rank at 22nd in the overall league standings. Compare that to Ottawa’s 21st goals for and ninth goals against. It’s goals against where Ottawa have frustrated teams and goals for where they’ve undoubtedly frustrated themselves. Scoring just 11 times in their last seven.
Keys To The Game
The Sens need to find some goals without sacrificing The System. Therefore, expect some line changes. Key players are back in the lineup and have had time to get back up to game fitness, it’s time to turn up the heat.
Next: Are We Protecting Players Enough?
Prevent the Flyers D from exploding up the ice. After being ripped apart by Markov, they must learn to stop teams building from the back with ease. After allowing too much space in front of Anderson in the first two games against Montreal, they then allowed far too much space on the blue-line.