Game 3: The Ottawa Senators look to learn from the Blues

The reigning Stanley Cup champions roll into Ottawa tonight as the Ottawa Senators play host to the St. Louis Blue at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators are looking to win their first game of the season.

The Ottawa Senators are coming off back to back losses to start the season, after dropping games against the Maple Leafs and the Rangers last week.

The team has not played a game since Saturday, which allowed the coaching staff to have three consecutive days of practice to try and iron out some of the issues.

With that being said, those issues are not going to disappear overnight, and the chances are that the Ottawa Senators are going to continue to struggle with their powerplay and defensive zone coverage for a while until the players get used to the systems the new coaching staff is trying to implement.

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The Game Tonight

Turning our attention to tonight’s game, the Ottawa Senators did not have a morning skate this morning, due to them having three consecutive days of practice leading into today.

Without a morning skate, it is hard to confirm what the lines will look like tonight, but head coach D.J. Smith was kind enough to give us a healthy idea based on the lines from yesterday’s practice.

Three key lineup changes heading into tonight’s game for the Ottawa Senators as Anders Nilsson gets the start in goal for the club. This will be Nilsson’s first regular-season action of the year, and he is coming off a strong finish to the season last year, which earned him a contract extension.

Two other changes upfront as the newly acquired Vladislav Namestnikov draws into the lineup replacing Mikkel Boedker, who will serve as the thirteenth forward.

The last and final lineup change for the Ottawa Senators is the newly recalled Vitaly Abramov will also be drawing into the lineup this evening.

Here is what we can expect the lines to look like tonight based on the lines at practice yesterday:

Forwards: Tkachuk-White-Ennis | Duclair-Tierney-Ryan | Namestnikov-Anisimov-Brown | Abramov-Pageau-Sabourin

Defence: Chabot-Zaitsev | Brannstrom-Hainsey | Borowiecki-Demelo

Abramov had a very strong showing in rookie camp and main training camp before getting sidelined with a concussion.

All reports out of Belleville confirm that he continued to be a bright spot following his demotion to the AHL, which is what earned him this opportunity with the Ottawa Senators.

He will look to try and continue that play in tonight’s game to show the coaching staff that he has what it takes to compete at this level.

In terms of Vladislav Namestnikov, all I am expecting from him is to come in and have a strong game for the Ottawa Senators.

It would be extremely unfair to the player to expect him to come in and change everything for this club, but I am expecting him to show that he can be relied on by the coaching staff.

He has the ability to play a strong 200-foot game in the NHL and contribute offensively as well. He will definitely get his opportunities with the Ottawa Senators.

Learning from the Opposition

There has been a lot of talk heading into tonight’s game that this is going to be a learning opportunity for the Ottawa Senators.

The St. Louis Blues are the defending Stanley Cup champions that like to play a heavy brand of hockey with big defensemen.

This makes it very hard for opposing teams to establish themselves in the offensive zone, especially anywhere near the front of the net.

"Bobby Ryan said it best when speaking with the media this morning, “This is a good test for us. You play with these guys tonight you show that you can be competitive in a game.”"

I have spoken and written a lot about how the Ottawa Senators are expected to finish the season at the bottom of the standings, and realistically that is pretty much where they are going to end up. That is not to say that they will not win games this season.

The level of competitiveness is what will keep the Ottawa Senators in games this season, which will, in turn, give them opportunities to win games. If the Ottawa Senators try to match opponents based on skill, and skill alone, they will find themselves on the wrong side of a lot of games.

If they can battle it out with the Blues tonight and keep their competitiveness throughout the entirety of the game, then they will know that they can do it against any team, regardless of the final score.

How to Watch

The game tonight is available for your listening pleasure as always on TSN1200 radio. It will also be broadcast on TSN5 in the Senators region. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 7:30 this evening.

Ottawa Senators fans, what are your expectations for tonight’s clash with the St. Louis Blues? What are you hoping to see from the Senators? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!