Ottawa Senators Return Versus The St. Louis Blues

After more than a week between games it’s finally time for the Ottawa Senators to play again as they face the St. Louis Blues tonight.

The Ottawa Senators had a week off between games with their last game being against the Toronto Maple Leafs. They were victorious in that matchup and have won three of their last four. After a terrible past two months the Ottawa Senators have finally been starting to play well.

Forward

The Ottawa Senators will use 12 forwards tonight. They will be: Mike Hoffman, Matt Duchene, Bobby Ryan, Ryan Dzingel, Derick Brassard, Mark Stone, Zack Smith, Nate Thompson, Tom Pyatt, Alex Burrows, Filip Chlapik, and Gabriel Dumont.

Defence

On defence the Sens will use six players. They will be: Johnny Oduya, Erik Karlsson, Dion Phaneuf, Cody Ceci, Mark Borowiecki, and Thomas Chabot.

Goal

In goal it’s expected that Craig Anderson will get the start and Mike Condon will serve as the backup.

Next: What Are The Ottawa Senators Options Going Forward?

Expectations Going Forward

The Ottawa Senators currently sit 12 points out of a playoff spot with five games in hand. Although those games in hand may lead to optimism it’s still a huge gap to make up. The Sens would have to surpass seven teams to get into a playoff spot.

Through 42 games the Ottawa Senators have accumulated 39 points. They sit second last in the Eastern Conference and third last in the league. The cut-off for the playoffs is generally around 95 points. In order to get to that point the Sens would need to win 28 of their final 40 games discounting overtime loss points. That’s winning more than two out of every three games. Although not impossible it’s not necessarily realistic going forward.